Assimilation Patterns in Cities

Yves Zenou and Yasuhiro Sato

No 13364, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: We develop a model in which ethnic minorities can either assimilate to the majority's norm or reject it by trading off higher productivity and wages with a greater social distance to their culture of origin. We show that "oppositional" minorities reside in more segregated areas, have worse outcomes (in terms of income) but are not necessary worse off in terms of welfare than assimilated minorities who live in less segregated areas. We find that a policy that reduces transportation cost decreases rather than increases assimilation in cities. We also find that when there are more productivity spillovers between the two groups, ethnic minorities are more likely not to assimilate and to reject the majority's norm. Finally, we show that ethnic minorities tend to assimilate more in bigger and more expensive cities.

Keywords: Ethnic identity; Agglomeration; Cities; Welfare (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J15 R14 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab, nep-mig and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Assimilation patterns in cities (2020)
Working Paper: Assimilation Patterns in Cities (2019)
Working Paper: Assimilation Patterns in Cities (2019)
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