Migration and Income Opportunities for Blacks in the South

Abstract

Several authors have addressed themselves to the question of which type of city provides the best employment opportunities for blacks [6; 7; 9; 2]. John Kains study analyzed the two large northern cities of Chicago and Detroit and found that suburbanization aggravated the problem of black employment. Kain has argued convincingly that since jobs are moving to the suburbs blacks must suburbanize in order to follow the employment opportunities. Lurie and Rayack used a survey of black females in Middletown Connecticut to conclude that the best alternative for employment of black families lay in encouraging them to move to satellite cities. The authors believe that the occupational structure of smaller cities offers greater employment opportunities to black families-females in particular. This study analyzes this question of optimal employment location choice for blacks for the southern U. S. Using data compiled from the one percent Continuous Work History Sample maintained by the Social Security Administration migration patterns the associated income changes and employment opportunities were examined for all southern SMSAs for 1965-70. The main hypothesis tested is that city size is an important determinant of opportunity for blacks in the South. (excerpt)