Abstract
We develop and estimate a statistical model of neighborhood choice that draws on insights from cognitive science and decision theory as well as qualitative studies of housing search. The model allows for a sequential decision process and the possibility that people consider a small and selective subset of all potential destinations. When combined with data from the Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, our model reveals that affordability constraints and households’ tendency toward short-distance moves lead blacks and Hispanics to have racially stratified choice sets in which their own group is disproportionately represented. We use an agent-based model to assess how racially stratified choice sets contribute to segregation outcomes. Our results show that cognitive decision strategies can amplify patterns of segregation and inequality.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1665-1692 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Journal | Demography |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Aug 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported under NIH K01-HD079554 to the first author and Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP140103966 to the second author. We also gratefully acknowledge use of the services and facilities of the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan, funded by NICHD Center Grant P2CHD041028. This article benefitted from three anonymous reviewers as well as helpful feedback from Alexandra Murphy, John Allen Logan, and Jeffrey Morenoff.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Population Association of America.