Neighborhood Attainment Research Articles

Wealth, Race, and Inter-Neighborhood Migration

Racial differences in wealth have often been thought to underlie racial differences in residential segregation and neighborhood attainment, but research supporting this claim is limited. The authors of this article use data from the 1989–2001 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), in conjunction with tract-level decennial census data, to examine the effects of household and parental wealth on the migration of black and non-Hispanic white families between neighborhoods comprised of varying percentages of Anglos (i.e., non-Hispanic whites). They find generally modest effects of wealth on these patterns of inter-neighborhood migration. Consistent with one version of the place-stratification model of locational attainment, the effects of both household and parental wealth are stronger among blacks than among non-Hispanic whites, with the sharpest racial difference emerging among renters. Racial differences in household and parental wealth, however, can account for only a trivial portion of the pronounced racial difference in migration into neighborhoods containing larger percentages of Anglo residents. The authors conclude that explanations for the racially stratified inter-neighborhood migration streams that underlie and reinforce black-Anglo residential segregation will need to look beyond the influence of wealth and other socioeconomic resources.

The Spatial Assimilation Model Reexamined: An Assessment by Canadian Data

Given the theoretical importance and policy implications of the spatial assimilation model, it is surprising that few studies have carefully and empirically examined the relationship of the three key variables in the model that has been used to explain the process of neighborhood attainment among immigrants, i.e., neighborhood environments, socioeconomic resources, and duration of residence in the host country. Few studies have delineated separate models to analyze the relationship between neighborhood environments and socioeconomic resources to the length of time spent in the host country. Using data from 1991 Canadian Census 2B profile and a special requested table from Statistics Canada, we evaluate how much the relationships of the three key variables mentioned in the spatial assimilation model apply to the spatial attainment of various racial/ethnic groups in Canada. The results reveal that the model explains the spatial attainment experiences of European groups. However, for Asians and blacks, the results suggest that their neighborhood attainments are not strongly related to their socioeconomic statuses. The study calls for a cautious approach in applying the spatial assimilation model.

Interstate Migration of Negro Population

Previous articleNext article FreeInterstate Migration of Negro PopulationWm. O. ScroggsWm. O. Scroggs Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Political Economy Volume 25, Number 10Dec., 1917 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/253049 Views: 72Total views on this site Citations: 6Citations are reported from Crossref PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Bryan A. Stuart, Evan J. Taylor Migration Networks and Location Decisions: Evidence from US Mass Migration, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 13, no.33 (Jul 2021): 134–175.https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20180294William J. Collins The Great Migration of Black Americans from the US South: A guide and interpretation, Explorations in Economic History 80 (Apr 2021): 101382.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2020.101382Christine Leibbrand, Catherine Massey, J. Trent Alexander, and Stewart Tolnay Neighborhood Attainment Outcomes for Children of the Great Migration, American Journal of Sociology 125, no.11 (Jun 2019): 141–183.https://doi.org/10.1086/703682William J. Collins, Marianne H. Wanamaker The Great Migration in Black and White: New Evidence on the Selection and Sorting of Southern Migrants, The Journal of Economic History 75, no.44 (Dec 2015): 947–992.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050715001527Kha Yen Prentice, Laszlo Konya, David Prentice Was the African American Great Migration Delayed by Outlawing Emigrant Agents?, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2013).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2296257Stewart E. Tolnay, E. M. Beck Black Flight: Lethal Violence and the Great Migration, 1900–1930, Social Science History 14, no.33 (Jan 2016): 347–370.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0145553200020836