Economics
Are people willing to pay for less segregation? Evidence from U.S. internal migration
Document Type
Article
Abstract
It is difficult to determine whether racial housing segregation is socially desirable, because segregation has some effects that are hard to measure. To overcome this challenge, we estimate a migration choice model to measure the willingness to pay for reduced segregation. The key idea underlying our empirical approach is that if segregation is undesirable, migrants should be willing to give up some earnings to avoid living in segregated cities. Using decennial census data from 1980 to 2000, we provide evidence that segregation is an urban disamenity. It is shown that both black and white migrants prefer to live in less segregated cities. For example, for a one percentage point reduction in the dissimilarity index, the estimated marginal willingness to pay of blacks is $436 (in 1999 dollars) in 2000. Among whites, this marginal willingness to pay is $301.
Publication Title
Regional Science and Urban Economics
Publication Date
7-2015
Volume
53
First Page
97
Last Page
112
ISSN
0166-0462
DOI
10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2015.05.002
Keywords
discrete choice model, internal migration, residential segregation, willingness to pay
Repository Citation
Zhang, Junfu and Zheng, Liang, "Are people willing to pay for less segregation? Evidence from U.S. internal migration" (2015). Economics. 34.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_economics/34
