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Location matters: Historical racial segregation and intergenerational mobility

Author

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  • Andrews, Rodney
  • Casey, Marcus
  • Hardy, Bradley L.
  • Logan, Trevon D.

Abstract

This paper explores historical patterns of racial segregation and its relationship with the observed spatial variation in contemporaneous economic mobility established in Chetty et al. (2014). We combined data from the Equality of Opportunity Project with a novel measure of racial segregation developed in Logan and Parman (forthcoming) and find that past racial segregation explains a significant portion of the spatial variation in intergenerational mobility. These findings are consistent with models showing that persistent institutional factors may drive long-term outcomes across areas. Racial segregation and the environment that fosters it may diminish upward economic mobility by reducing access to networks, labor and capital markets, and political institutions. If so, then reducing the impact of these persistent processes may be key to mitigating current-day gaps in wealth, income, and overall well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrews, Rodney & Casey, Marcus & Hardy, Bradley L. & Logan, Trevon D., 2017. "Location matters: Historical racial segregation and intergenerational mobility," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 67-72.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:158:y:2017:i:c:p:67-72
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2017.06.018
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    Cited by:

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    2. Hennig, Jan-Luca, 2021. "Labor Market Polarization and Intergenerational Mobility: Theory and Evidence," VfS Annual Conference 2021 (Virtual Conference): Climate Economics 242353, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    3. Emmerling, Johannes & Groom, Ben & Wettingfeld, Tanja, 2017. "Discounting and the representative median agent," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 78-81.
    4. Lei Zhang & Tammy Leonard, 2021. "External validity of hedonic price estimates: Heterogeneity in the price discount associated with having Black and Hispanic neighbors," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(1), pages 62-85, January.
    5. Handy, Christopher & Shester, Katharine L., 2022. "Local changes in intergenerational mobility," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Bharathi, Naveen & Malghan, Deepak & Rahman, Andaleeb, 2023. "Ethnic diversity and economic development with spatial segregation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    7. Thomas, Margaret M.C. & Waldfogel, Jane, 2022. "What kind of “poverty” predicts CPS contact: Income, material hardship, and differences among racialized groups," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    8. Paul E. Carrillo & Jonathan L. Rothbaum, 2022. "Counterfactual dissimilarity: Can changes in demographics and income explain increased racial integration in US cities?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 21-56, January.
    9. Carol Graham & Sergio Pinto, 2019. "Unequal hopes and lives in the USA: optimism, race, place, and premature mortality," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(2), pages 665-733, April.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intergenerational economic mobility; Historical racial segregation; Economic history;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J68 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Public Policy
    • N3 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy

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