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Inner-City Firms and the Employment Problem of the Urban Poor: Are Poor People Really Excluded from Jobs Located in their Own Neighborhoods?

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  • David A. Reingold

    (Indiana University, dreingol@indiana.edu)

Abstract

This article investigates whether the employment problem of the urban poor has been exacerbated by inner-city employers and their use of hiring practices that limit local employment opportunities for residents of these neighborhoods. By using the Urban Poverty and Family Life Study’s survey of Chicago-area employers, this article estimates the effects of neighborhood poverty on a firm’s recruitment and screening practices while also estimating the impact of hiring practices and neighborhood poverty on the employment of local residents. The results suggest that the level of poverty in a firm’s neighborhood does not alter screening practices but significantly reduces recruitment through personal referrals and media advertisements. However, these different recruitment patterns do not significantly reduce a firm’s employment of neighborhood residents. Nor does firm-level neighborhood poverty affect its employment of neighborhood residents. Overall, these results suggest that inner-city residents are not excluded from jobs located in their own neighborhoods.

Suggested Citation

  • David A. Reingold, 1999. "Inner-City Firms and the Employment Problem of the Urban Poor: Are Poor People Really Excluded from Jobs Located in their Own Neighborhoods?," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 13(4), pages 291-306, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecdequ:v:13:y:1999:i:4:p:291-306
    DOI: 10.1177/089124249901300401
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Harry J. Holzer, 1987. "Hiring Procedures in the Firm: Their Economic Determinants and Outcomes," NBER Working Papers 2185, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. O'Regan, Katherine M. & Quigley, John M., 1991. "Labor market access and labor market outcomes for urban youth," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 277-293, July.
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    4. Daniel Immergluck, 1998. "Neighborhood Economic Development and Local Working: The Effect of Nearby Jobs on Where Residents Work," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(2), pages 170-187, April.
    5. O'Regan Katherine M. & Quigley John M., 1993. "Family Networks and Youth Access to Jobs," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 230-248, September.
    6. Harry J. Holzer, 1991. "The Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis: What Has the Evidence Shown?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 28(1), pages 105-122, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Clemente J. Navarro-Yáñez, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Integral Urban Strategies: Policy Theory and Target Scale. The European URBAN I Initiative and Employment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Keith R. Ihlanfeldt, 1999. "Are Poor People Really Excluded from Jobs Located in their Own Neighborhoods? Comments on Reingold and Some Additional Evidence from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 13(4), pages 307-314, November.
    3. Kathryn M. Neckerman, 1999. "Out of the Loop? A Comment on David Reingold’s Analysis of Inner-City Employment," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 13(4), pages 315-317, November.
    4. Mikaela Backman & Janet E. Kohlhase, 2020. "Labor force diversity and firm survival," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(5), pages 903-928, November.

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