Choice Set Formation in Residential Mobility and Its Implications for Segregation Dynamics

AbstractWe 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 c ognitive decision strategies can amplify patterns of segregation and inequality.
Source: Demography - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research