IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v51y2014i4p763-780.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Poor Neighbourhood Reputation Create a Neighbourhood Effect on Employment? The Results of a Field Experiment in the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Tunstall
  • Anne Green
  • Ruth Lupton
  • Simon Watmough
  • Katie Bates

Abstract

There are substantial variations in labour market outcomes between neighbourhoods. One potential partial explanation is that residents of some neighbourhoods face discrimination from employers. Although studies of deprived areas have recorded resident perceptions of discrimination by employers and negative employer perceptions of certain areas, until now there has been no direct evidence on whether employers treat job applicants differently by area of residence. This paper reports a unique experiment to test for a neighbourhood reputation effect involving 2001 applications to 667 real jobs by fictional candidates nominally resident in neighbourhoods with poor and bland reputations. The experiment found no statistically significant difference in employer treatment of applicants from these areas, indicating that people living in neighbourhoods with poor reputations did not face ‘postcode discrimination’ in the labour market, at the initial selection stage.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Tunstall & Anne Green & Ruth Lupton & Simon Watmough & Katie Bates, 2014. "Does Poor Neighbourhood Reputation Create a Neighbourhood Effect on Employment? The Results of a Field Experiment in the UK," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(4), pages 763-780, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:51:y:2014:i:4:p:763-780
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098013492230
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098013492230
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0042098013492230?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francis Green & Malcolm Maguire & Beverley Roberts & Kathie Wray, 1991. "Explaining persistent inner-city unemployment: A case study in Nottingham," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 6(3), pages 240-249, November.
    2. Peter A. Riach & Judith Rich, 2004. "Deceptive Field Experiments of Discrimination: Are they Ethical?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 457-470, August.
    3. Zenou, Yves, 2002. "How do firms redline workers?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 391-408, November.
    4. repec:mpr:mprres:4994 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Ruth Lupton, 2003. "'Neighbourhood Effects': Can we measure them and does it matter?," CASE Papers 073, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    6. Ruth Lupton, 2003. "Neighbourhood Effects: Can we measure them and does it matter?," CASE Papers case73, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    7. Devah Pager, 2007. "The Use of Field Experiments for Studies of Employment Discrimination: Contributions, Critiques, and Directions for the Future," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 609(1), pages 104-133, January.
    8. McGinnity, Frances & Nelson, Jacqueline & Lunn, Pete & Quinn, Emma, 2009. "Discrimination in Recruitment: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number BKMNEXT137.
    9. repec:mpr:mprres:1960 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Lupton, Ruth, 2003. "'Neighbourhood effects': can we measure them and does it matter?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6327, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    11. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yannick L'Horty & Mathieu Bunel & Pascale Petit, 2019. "Testing for redlining in the labour market," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 153-173, April.
    2. Carlsson, Magnus & Abrar Reshid, Abdulaziz & Rooth, Dan-Olof, 2018. "Neighborhood Signaling Effects, Commuting Time, and Employment: Evidence from a Field Experiment," IZA Discussion Papers 11284, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Julie MacLeavy & David Manley, 2018. "(Re)discovering the lost middle: intergenerational inheritances and economic inequality in urban and regional research," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(10), pages 1435-1446, October.
    4. Emmanuel Duguet & David Gray & Yannick L'Horty & Loïc du Parquet & Pascale Petit, 2020. "Labour market effects of urban riots: An experimental assessment," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(3), pages 787-806, June.
    5. Baert, Stijn, 2017. "Hiring Discrimination: An Overview of (Almost) All Correspondence Experiments Since 2005," GLO Discussion Paper Series 61, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Gaddis, S. Michael, 2018. "An Introduction to Audit Studies in the Social Sciences," SocArXiv e5hfc, Center for Open Science.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tunstall, Rebecca & Green, Anne & Lupton, Ruth & Watmough, Simon & Bates, Katie, 2014. "Does poor neighbourhood reputation create a neighbourhood effect on employment? The results of a field experiment in the UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 55913, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Petrović, Ana & Manley, David & van Ham, Maarten, 2018. "Freedom from the Tyranny of Neighbourhood: Rethinking Socio-Spatial Context Effects," IZA Discussion Papers 11416, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Caitlin Robinson & Stefan Bouzarovski & Sarah Lindley, 2018. "Underrepresenting neighbourhood vulnerabilities? The measurement of fuel poverty in England," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 50(5), pages 1109-1127, August.
    4. Eleonore M Veldhuizen & Karien Stronks & Anton E Kunst, 2013. "Assessing Associations between Socio-Economic Environment and Self-Reported Health in Amsterdam Using Bespoke Environments," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(7), pages 1-10, July.
    5. Lars Brannstrom, 2004. "Poor Places, Poor Prospects? Counterfactual Models of Neighbourhood Effects on Social Exclusion in Stockholm, Sweden," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(13), pages 2515-2537, December.
    6. Thomas Maloutas & Yannis Frangopoulos & Alexandra Makridou & Eirini Kostaki & Dimitris Kourkouridis & Stavros Nikiforos Spyrellis, 2024. "Exploring Spatial Proximity and Social Exclusion through Two Case Studies of Roma Settlements in Greece," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-23, February.
    7. Jamie O'Brien & Miguel Serra & Andrew Hudson-Smith & Sophia Psarra & Anthony Hunter & Martin Zaltz-Austwick, 2016. "Ensuring VGI Credibility in Urban-Community Data Generation: A Methodological Research Design," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 1(2), pages 88-100.
    8. Anne Power & Nicola Serle & Helen Willmot, 2011. "Obstacles and Opportunities: Today’s children, tomorrow’s families," CASE Reports casereport66, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    9. Christian A.B. Nygaard, 2016. "Geology and the Emergence of Modern Neighbourhoods and Social Structures," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2016-08, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    10. Tim Cassiers & Christian Kesteloot, 2012. "Socio-spatial Inequalities and Social Cohesion in European Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(9), pages 1909-1924, July.
    11. Marinus C. Deurloo & Sjoerd De Vos, 2008. "Measuring Segregation At The Micro Level: An Application Of The M Measure To Multi‐Ethnic Residential Neighbourhoods In Amsterdam," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 99(3), pages 329-347, July.
    12. Ive Marx & Brian Nolan & Javier Olivera, 2014. "The Welfare State and Anti-Poverty Policy in Rich Countries," Working Papers 1403, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    13. Joanne Bretherton & Nicholas Pleace, 2011. "A Difficult Mix," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(16), pages 3433-3447, December.
    14. Power, Anne & Serle, Nicola & Willmot, Helen, 2011. "Obstacles and opportunities: today’s children, tomorrow’s families," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 43806, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Michelle Norris & Cathal O'Connell, 2014. "Decline and Renewal of Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods: Old Insights, New Evidence and Policy Implications," Planning Practice & Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 370-387, August.
    16. Plane, Jocelyn & Klodawsky, Fran, 2013. "Neighbourhood amenities and health: Examining the significance of a local park," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 1-8.
    17. Mia Arp Fallov, 2010. "Community Capacity Building as the Route to Inclusion in Neighbourhood Regeneration?," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(4), pages 789-804, December.
    18. Elspeth Graham & David Manley & Rosemary Hiscock & Paul Boyle & Joe Doherty, 2009. "Mixing Housing Tenures: Is it Good for Social Well-being?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(1), pages 139-165, January.
    19. Alex Hirschfield & Mark Birkin & Chris Brunsdon & Nicolas Malleson & Andrew Newton, 2014. "How Places Influence Crime: The Impact of Surrounding Areas on Neighbourhood Burglary Rates in a British City," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(5), pages 1057-1072, April.
    20. Stanley, John K. & Hensher, David A. & Stanley, Janet R., 2022. "Place-based disadvantage, social exclusion and the value of mobility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 101-113.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:51:y:2014:i:4:p:763-780. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.