When are ghettos bad?
Subtitle: lessons from immigrant segregation in the United States
By: David M. Cutler, Edward L. Glaeser, Jacob L. Vigdor.
Contributors: Glaeser, Edward L. 1967-; Vigdor, Jacob L.; National Bureau of Economic Research.
Series: NBER working paper series -- no. 13082.; Working paper series (National Bureau of Economic Research) -- working paper no. 13082.
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 37
Subjects: Immigrants -- United States -- Social conditions; Immigrants -- Social networks -- United States; Sociology, Urban -- United States; Inner cities -- United States
Description: Recent literature on the relationship between ethnic or racial segregation and outcomes has failed to produce a consensus view of the role of ghettos; some studies suggest that residence in an enclave is beneficial, some reach the opposite conclusion, and still others imply that any relationship is small. This paper presents new evidence on this relationship using data on first-generation immigrants in the United States. Using average group characteristics as instruments for segregation, controlling for individual characteristics and both metropolitan area and country-of-origin fixed effects, we estimate impacts of residential concentration that vary with group human capital levels. Residential concentration can be beneficial, but primarily for more educated groups. The mean impact of residential concentration varies across measures, which may illuminate some of the causal mechanisms relating segregation to outcomes.
Notes: "May 2007"

Includes bibliographical references (p. 23-24).

Also available in PDF from the NBER world wide web site (www.nber.org).