Vertical micro-segregation: is living in disadvantageous lower floors in Athens’ apartment blocks producing negative social effects?

Abstract

This article estimates the effect of vertical segregation – across floors of apartment buildings – on educational attainment in the metropolitan area of Athens. This context offers an opportunity to evaluate and discuss the complementarity between horizontal segregation (across neighbourhoods) and vertical segregation. Using census microdata, we observe that the share of individuals dropping out of school early is much higher for young residents of disadvantageous lower-floor apartments than for those living in upper floors. This gap remains significant after controlling for all relevant personal, household, and neighbourhood characteristics. This result suggests an effect of vertical segregation on educational outcomes in addition to neighbourhood effects and individuals’ socio-economic status. Moreover, the findings of this article corroborate the claim that the target for public policies to increase social mix is not enough to address inequalities at the local level.