Racial Inequality and Residential Segregation

Rajiv Sethi
rs328@columbia.edu
(212) 854-5140
Office hours: T 9:30-12:00,
& by appointment
Office location: 5b Lehman Hall
 

Class Meetings:
W 2:10-4:00
Class location:
1 Lehman (BC)


 

This course is concerned with the causes and consequences of racial segregation in residential patterns in the United States. We begin by looking at the extent to which individuals belonging to different groups live in segregated neighborhoods. We then explore the relative importance of the three main factors that have been said to cause segregation, namely (i) racial disparities in income and wealth, (ii) preferences over neighborhood racial composition, and (iii) discrimination in markets for real estate and mortgage lending. Theoretical models of residential choice and neighborhood transition will be studied. The latter part of the course deals with the effects of segregation on levels of education and income across generations. Here we consider employment opportunities in inner cities, the quality and funding of public education, and neighborhood effects on the transfer of knowledge and skills from one generation to the next.