Explaining Black Unemployment in U.S. Metropolitan Areas: A Case of Spatial Mismatch or Educational Inequality?
Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The spatial mismatch hypothesis was first presented by Kain (1968) as a way of explaining racial inequalities within the labor markets of Chicago and Detroit. In this paper, I investigate the spatial mismatch hypothesis for United States metropolitan areas, using Census data from the years 2000 and 2010, to see whether the spatial disparities between black residential locations and the locations of job opportunities can explain why black unemployment in metropolitan areas was 7 percentage points higher than white unemployment in 2000 and 7.3 percentage points higher in 2010. Using regression techniques for both cross sectional and panel data, I find that space, as measured by a dissimilarity index, is not a significant factor in explaining unemployment differentials. Inequalities within educational attainment, however, do show statistical and economic significance, and suggest that education may play a greater role than space in explaining racial differences in metropolitan unemployment. *
Source: Figshare
Author: Alyson Downing (14102130)
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Reduced inequalities
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6990999939