Are Immigrants Buying to Get In?: The Role of Ethnic Clustering on the Homeownership Propensities of 12 Toronto Immigrant Groups, 1996-2001

Michael Haan

Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series from Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch

Abstract:

Numerous studies equate immigrant homeownership with assimilation into the residential mainstream, though only rarely is this claim verified by studying the ethnic character of neighbourhoods where immigrants actually buy homes. In this paper, the 1996 and 2001 Census of Canada master files and bivariate probit models with sample selection corrections (a.k.a. Heckman probit models) are used to assess the neighbourhood-level ethnic determinants of homeownership in Toronto, Canada. By determining whether low levels of ethnic concentration accompany a home purchase, it can be assessed whether immigrants exit their enclaves in search of a home in the 'promised land', as traditional assimilation theory suggests, or if some now seek homes in the 'ethnic communities' that Logan, Alba and Zhang (2002) recently introduced in the American Sociological Review. Assessing the role of concentration under equilibrium conditions, evidence emerges that same-group concentration affects the propensity of several group members to buy homes.

Keywords: Ethnic diversity and immigration; Ethnic groups and generations in Canada; Families; households and housing; Housing and dwelling characteristics; Immigrants and non-permanent residents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-05-26
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/11F0019M2005252 (application/pdf)

Related works:
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:stc:stcp3e:2005252e

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series from Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Mark Brown ().