Abstract
Whether by design or by accident, ghetto dispersal may be a suboptimal means of improving the economic status of poor urban blacks. The empirical evidence is mixed. In a number of isolated cases wages and employment really are higher in suburban labor markets. Support is found for the notion that the demand for low-skilled workers exceeds the supply in suburban areas. Moreover, poor blacks and whites appear to have similar employment experiences in the suburbs. The isolated evidence does not support the view of racial discrimination in suburban labor markets. However, support is found for the view that there are positive externalities in employment in one's own community. The isolated evidence suggests that poor workers who both live and work in census tracts of similar racial composition have better employment experiences.-Author
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 298-302 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | American Economic Review |
Volume | 69 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - Jan 1 1979 |