Ethnic Residential Segregation and Its Consequences

Wilson, Franklin ,and Roger Hammer
Working paper no. 1997-18

Abstract

We estimate a structural equation model of the association of residential preferences, perceived housing market discrimination, and ethnic composition of neighborhood with other neighborhood attributes, for a sample of black and Hispanic respondents surveyed in the MultiCity Study of Urban Inequality. The results indicate a marginal, but statistically significant, association between residential preferences and the ethnic composition of respondent’s neighborhood; and indicate that residential preferences, perceived discrimination and neighborhood ethnic composition are selectively associated with the quality of the respondents’ neighborhood environment, and their perception of the prevalence of neighborhood problems and the availability of services from the public and private sectors.