Homophily, selection, and choice in segregation models

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Xu, Bing; Clark, William A. V.; Pak, Maxwell
• 署名单位: Southwestern University of Finance & Economics - China; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-12143
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313752121
• 发表日期: 2024-02-13
• 关键词: residential segregation; context

摘要

Schelling's 1971 work on the dynamics of segregation showed that even a small degree of homophily, the desire to live among like neighbors, can lead to a starkly segregated population. One of the driving factors for this result is that the notion of homophily used is based on group identities that are exogenous and immutable. In contrast, we consider a homophily that arises from the desire to be with neighbors who are behaviorally similar, not necessarily those who have the same group identity. The distinction matters because behaviors are neither exogenous nor immutable but choices that can change as individuals adapt to their neighborhoods. We show that in such an environment, integration rather than segregation is the typical outcome. However, the tendency toward adaptation and integration can be impeded when economic frictions in the form of income inequality and housing cost are present.