The National Rise in Residential Segregation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: University System of Ohio; Ohio State University; National Bureau of Economic Research; William & Mary; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050717000079
• 发表日期: 2017
• 页码: 127-170
• 关键词: racial segregation; black-migration; american south; UNITED-STATES; new-orleans; neighborhoods; preferences; RACE; bad; redistribution

摘要

Exploiting complete census manuscript files, we derive a new segregation measure using the racial similarity of next-door neighbors. The fineness of our measure reveals new facts not captured by traditional segregation indices. First, segregation doubled nationally from 1880 to 1940. Second, contrary to prior estimates, Southern urban areas were the most segregated in the country and remained so over time. Third, increasing segregation in the twentieth century was not strictly driven by urbanization, black migration, or white flight: it resulted from increasing racial sorting at the household level. In all areas-North and South, urban and rural-segregation increased dramatically.