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Conceptual and Methodological Arguments against the Use of Location Quotient as an Area-Based Measure of Residential Segregation: A Measurement Perspective

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  • Masayoshi Oka

    (Department of Management, Faculty of Management, Josai University, Sakado 350-0295, Japan)

Abstract

Among a wide range of practical applications, the location quotient (LQ) has been used as an area-based measure of residential segregation by race/ethnicity in some studies. However, it does not correspond to any of the five dimensions of residential segregation. Rather, an application of LQ in demographic data analyses brings about an atypical way to quantify the population composition of areal units by race/ethnicity. To clarify misconceptions, the purpose of this study was to demonstrate the relationships between proportions, percentages, and LQs of six racial/ethnic groups in the conterminous United States (US). Since populations change over time, demographic data on race and ethnicity were obtained from the 2000, 2010, and 2020 Census through the US Census Bureau’s website. Using census tracts and counties as the units of analysis, a sequence of scatterplots and associated Pearson’s correlation coefficients ( r ) was used to display the analytical results of census-tract- and county-based measures at three different time periods. Despite the different levels of aggregation, the relationships between proportions, percentages, and LQs of six racial/ethnic groups consistently showed perfect positive correlations at three different time periods ( r = 1.00). These suggest that census-tract- and county-based measures expressed as the proportion, percentage, and LQ of a racial/ethnic group capture the same distributional pattern, but the units of measurement simply differ from one another. Hence, the study of residential segregation and its societal consequences needs to be specific to the dimension under study and to build upon the conceptual and methodological foundations established by sociologists-demographers and geographers.

Suggested Citation

  • Masayoshi Oka, 2023. "Conceptual and Methodological Arguments against the Use of Location Quotient as an Area-Based Measure of Residential Segregation: A Measurement Perspective," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:13:y:2023:i:12:p:256-:d:1298013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Charles Cortese & Judith Leftwich, 1975. "A technique for measuring the effect of economic base on opportunity for blacks," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 12(2), pages 325-329, May.
    2. McLaughlin, D.K. & Stokes, C.S., 2002. "Income inequality and mortality in US counties: Does minority racial concentration matter?," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(1), pages 99-104.
    3. Andrew Crawley & Malcolm Beynon & Max Munday, 2013. "Making Location Quotients More Relevant as a Policy Aid in Regional Spatial Analysis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(9), pages 1854-1869, July.
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