The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation

Yann Algan, Camille Hemet and David Laitin ()
Additional contact information
David Laitin: Department of Political Science, Stanford University, http://www.stanford.edu/~dlaitin/

No 1338, AMSE Working Papers from Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France

Abstract: This paper demonstrates the effects of ethnic diversity on social relationships and the quality of public spaces at a very finite neighborhood level. We use detailed block level data on diversity and housing quality from a representative survey on housing in France. We show how and to what extent diversity within a neighborhood can directly affect household well-being and the quality of the common spaces, whereas the previous literature looks at more aggregate outcomes through voting channels. Our identification strategy relies on the exogeneity of public housing allocations with respect to ethnic characteristics in France, to address the bias due to endogenous residential sorting. Diversity is shown to have a negative effect on the quality of local public goods, either due to vandalism, not deterred by other-regarding preferences and social policing, or due to collective action failure to ensure effective property management. However, we find that diversity has no robust effect on public safety at a local level and, if anything, is more related to social anomie.

Keywords: diversity; neighborhood effects; living conditions; public housing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H10 H41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 61 pages
Date: 2013-07-10, Revised 2013-07-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-eur, nep-soc and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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http://www.amse-aixmarseille.fr/sites/default/files/_dt/2012/wp_2013_-_nr_38.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation (2016)
Working Paper: The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation (2016)
Working Paper: The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation (2016)
Working Paper: The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation (2013)
Working Paper: The Social Effects of Ethnic Diversity at the Local Level: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation (2013)
Working Paper: Diversity and Public Goods: a Natural Experiment with Exogeneous Residential Allocation (2011)
Working Paper: Diversity and Public Goods: A Natural Experiment with Exogenous Residential Allocation (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aim:wpaimx:1338

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