Who Gentrifies Low-Income Neighborhoods?

Terra McKinnish, Randall Walsh and T. Kirk White

No 14036, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: This paper uses confidential Census data, specifically the 1990 and 2000 Census Long Form data, to study the demographic processes underlying the gentrification of low-income urban neighborhoods during the 1990's. In contrast to previous studies, the analysis is conducted at the more refined census-tract level with a narrower definition of gentrification and more closely matched comparison neighborhoods. The analysis is also richly disaggregated by demographic characteristic, uncovering differential patterns by race, education, age and family structure that would not have emerged in the more aggregate analysis in previous studies. The results provide no evidence of displacement of low-income non-white households in gentrifying neighborhoods. The bulk of the increase in average family income in gentrifying neighborhoods is attributed to black high school graduates and white college graduates. The disproportionate retention and income gains of the former and the disproportionate in-migration of the latter are distinguishing characteristics of gentrifying U.S. urban neighborhoods in the 1990's.

JEL-codes: J15 J60 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-ure
Note: LS PE
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published as McKinnish, Terra & Walsh, Randall & Kirk White, T., 2010. "Who gentrifies low-income neighborhoods?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 180-193, March.

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14036.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Who gentrifies low-income neighborhoods? (2010)
Working Paper: Who Gentrifies Low Income Neighborhoods? (2008)
Working Paper: Who Gentrifies Low-income Neighborhoods? (2007)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nbr:nberwo:14036

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14036

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc National Bureau of Economic Research, 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().