Ethnic Segregation and Native Out-Migration in Copenhagen

We study how the local concentration of ethnic minorities relates to natives’ likelihood of out- migration in the capital of Denmark. In US studies, a high or increasing proportion of racial or ethnic minorities in inner city neighborhoods is seen as the prime motivation for ‘white flight;’ White middle-class families moving towards racially and ethnically homogeneous suburbs. The relatively egalitarian Scandinavian setting offers a contrasting case, where inner cities are less deprived, and where minority groups primarily consist of immigrants and children of immigrants that have arrived over the past few decades. Using rich, population-wide, longitudinal administrative data over a twelve-year period, linked to exact coordinates on places of residence, we document how the geographical distribution of minorities within Copenhagen relates to native out-migration. We observe increasing out-migration among the native majority population from areas with high and increasing minority concentrations, largely supporting the hypothesis of a ‘native flight’ mobility pattern.