The Effects of Racial Segregation on Intergenerational Mobility: Evidence from Historical Railroad PlacementIndian Rupee

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Chyn, Eric; Haggag, Kareem; Stuart, Bryan A.
• 署名单位: University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; National Bureau of Economic Research; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Philadelphia; IZA Institute Labor Economics
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-APPLIED ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7782
• DOI: 10.1257/app.20240271
• 发表日期: 2026
• 关键词: WHITES OPPOSITION; great migration; attitudes; neighborhoods; opportunity; impacts; HEALTH; rise

摘要

This paper provides new evidence on the causal impacts of citywide racial segregation on intergenerational mobility. We use an instrumental variable approach that relies on plausibly exogenous variation in segregation due to the arrangement of railroad tracks in the nineteenth century. Our analysis finds that higher segregation reduces upward mobility for Black children from households across the income distribution and White children from low-income households. Moreover, segregation lowers academic achievement while increasing incarceration and teenage birth rates. An analysis of mechanisms shows that segregation reduces government spending, weakens support for antipoverty policies, and increases racially conservative attitudes among White residents. (JEL I38, J13, J15, J62, N32, N72, R30)