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Does Residence in an Ethnic Community Help Immigrants in a Recession?

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  • Pengyu Zhu
  • Cathy Yang Liu
  • Gary Painter

Abstract

Research on how the residential segregation of immigrant populations has impacted their labor market outcomes presents many challenges because of the fact that immigrants often choose to locate near co-ethnics to share resources and cultural amenities. Because not all immigrants choose to live in these ethnic communities, identification of a causal effect on living in an ethnic community is difficult. The estimation of an effect of living in these ethnic communities is also difficult because it is ambiguous whether such residence will help or harm the labor market outcomes of immigrants. This study implements a number of approaches to help identify a causal effect, including using sample of adults whose residential location is plausibly exogenous with respect to their labor market outcomes and using the current recession as a source of exogenous variation. Results suggest that residence in an ethnic community after the recession increases the likelihood of working, albeit with longer commutes.

Suggested Citation

  • Pengyu Zhu & Cathy Yang Liu & Gary Painter, 2013. "Does Residence in an Ethnic Community Help Immigrants in a Recession?," Working Paper 8959, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    • Handle: RePEc:luk:wpaper:8959
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    Cited by:

    1. Mundra, Kusum & Rios-Avila, Fernando, 2016. "Immigrant Birthcountry Networks and Unemployment Duration: Evidence around the Great Recession," IZA Discussion Papers 10233, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Kusum Mundra & Fernando Rios-Avila, 2021. "Using repeated cross-sectional data to examine the role of immigrant birth-country networks on unemployment duration: an application of Guell and Hu (2006) approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(1), pages 389-415, July.
    3. Eun Jin Shin, 2020. "Disparities in access to opportunities across neighborhoods types: a case study from the Los Angeles region," Transportation, Springer, vol. 47(2), pages 475-501, April.
    4. Yongheng Deng & Maggie R. Hu & Adrian D. Lee, 2021. "Melting pot or salad bowl: Cultural distance and housing investments," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 49(S1), pages 235-267, March.
    5. Hubert Jayet & Glenn Rayp & Ilse Ruyssen & Nadiya Ukrayinchuk, 2016. "Immigrants’ location choice in Belgium," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 57(1), pages 63-89, July.
    6. Pengyu Zhu, 2016. "Residential segregation and employment outcomes of rural migrant workers in China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(8), pages 1635-1656, June.
    7. Xi Huang, 2021. "Immigration and economic resilience in the Great Recession," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(9), pages 1885-1905, July.
    8. Craig Wesley Carpenter & Scott Loveridge, 2019. "A spatial model of growth relationships and Latino-owned business," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 63(3), pages 541-557, December.
    9. Ray Calnan & Gary Painter, 2017. "The response of Latino immigrants to the Great Recession: Occupational and residential (im)mobility," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(11), pages 2561-2591, August.
    10. Xingang Wang & Sholeh A. Maani, 2021. "Ethnic regional networks and immigrants' earnings: A spatial autoregressive network approach," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(1), pages 141-168, February.
    11. Natasha T. Duncan & Brigitte S. Waldorf, 2016. "Immigrant selectivity, immigrant performance and the macro-economic context," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(3), pages 127-143, August.
    12. Zhu, Pengyu & Zhao, Songnian & Jiang, Yanpeng, 2022. "Residential segregation, built environment and commuting outcomes: Experience from contemporary China," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 269-277.

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    Keywords

    immigration; ethnic communities;

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