Abstract
Abstract We analyse how neighbourhood ethnic diversity and segregation affect adolescents’ social participation in England. We distinguish between participation in ‘purposeful activities’—such as sports and volunteering—and hanging around with friends. We suggest a novel identification strategy to address the problem of endogeneity of ethnic diversity and segregation. We find that ethnic diversity decreases hanging around, while ethnic segregation increases it. No effects on participation in purposeful activities are found.
Highlights
We analyse how neighbourhood ethnic diversity and segregation affect adolescents’ social participation in England
We introduce the perfect integration scenario where: (i) district ethnic segregation is zero: the district and both its wards have the same share of Greens and the same ethnic diversity (Fd = Fw1 = Fw2 = F ); (ii) Greens and Purples are equal in number in the district (Ng = Np). (i) and (ii) imply (iii) Purples in ward 1 and Purples in ward 2 are equal in number, and Greens in ward 1 and Greens in ward 2 are equal in number
The estimated coefficient for district ethnic diversity on PA is negative in specifications (1) and (2), but goes towards zero when controls are added in specifications (3) and (4)
Summary
The main data that we use are from the the Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE), a cohort study containing detailed information for approximately 15,000 pupils living in England and born between 1 September 1989 and 31 August 1990. Additional data are added to the LSYPE. Data from the 2001 Population Census (the closest census data to wave one of LSYPE) are used to compute indices of district ethnic diversity and. Districts have been chosen to indicate neighbourhoods as they are responsible for cultural and recreational functions, and are the relevant geographical level for looking at social participation. With a population ranging from approximately 300,000 to 1,000,000 people (with even large cities like Birmingham or Leeds being formed by a single district), districts are likely to cover the area where most of the social participation takes place. Weather data (monthly millimetres of rainfall and hours of sun) from the UK Met Office are added to account for weather conditions.
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