IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/nbr/nberwo/32252.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Re-assessing the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis

Author

Listed:
  • David Card
  • Jesse Rothstein
  • Moises Yi

Abstract

We use detailed location information from the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) database to develop new evidence on the effects of spatial mismatch on the relative earnings of Black workers in large US cities. We classify workplaces by the size of the pay premiums they offer in a two-way fixed effects model, providing a simple metric for defining “good” jobs. We show that: (a) Black workers earn nearly the same average wage premiums as whites; (b) in most cities Black workers live closer to jobs, and closer to good jobs, than do whites; (c) Black workers typically commute shorter distances than whites; and (d) people who commute further earn higher average pay premiums, but the elasticity with respect to distance traveled is slightly lower for Black workers. We conclude that geographic proximity to good jobs is unlikely to be a major source of the racial earnings gaps in major U.S. cities today.

Suggested Citation

  • David Card & Jesse Rothstein & Moises Yi, 2024. "Re-assessing the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis," NBER Working Papers 32252, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32252
    Note: LS
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.nber.org/papers/w32252.pdf
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text is generally limited to series subscribers, however if the top level domain of the client browser is in a developing country or transition economy free access is provided. More information about subscriptions and free access is available at http://www.nber.org/wwphelp.html. Free access is also available to older working papers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ashenfelter, Orley, 1972. "Racial Discrimination and Trade Unionism," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(3), pages 435-464, May-June.
    2. Glaeser, Edward L. & Hanushek, Eric A. & Quigley, John M., 2004. "Opportunities, race, and urban location: the influence of John Kain," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 70-79, July.
    3. John M. Abowd & Francis Kramarz & David N. Margolis, 1999. "High Wage Workers and High Wage Firms," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(2), pages 251-334, March.
    4. David Card & Jesse Rothstein & Moises Yi, 2024. "Industry Wage Differentials: A Firm-Based Approach," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(S1), pages 11-59.
    5. François Gerard & Lorenzo Lagos & Edson Severnini & David Card, 2021. "Assortative Matching or Exclusionary Hiring? The Impact of Employment and Pay Policies on Racial Wage Differences in Brazil," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(10), pages 3418-3457, October.
    6. Paul Offner & Daniel H. Saks, 1971. "A Note on John Kain's "Housing Segregation, Negro Employment and Metropolitan Decentralization"," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 85(1), pages 147-160.
    7. David T. Ellwood, 1986. "The Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis: Are There Teenage Jobs Missing in the Ghetto?," NBER Chapters, in: The Black Youth Employment Crisis, pages 147-190, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Joseph D. Mooney, 1969. "Housing Segregation, Negro Employment and Metropolitan Decentralization: An Alternative Perspective," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 83(2), pages 299-311.
    9. John F. Kain, 1968. "Housing Segregation, Negro Employment, and Metropolitan Decentralization," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(2), pages 175-197.
    10. 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)

    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. Keith R. Ihlanfeldt & David L. Sjoquist, 1991. "The Effect of Job Access on Black and White Youth Employment: A Cross-sectional Analysis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 28(2), pages 255-265, April.
    2. John F. Kain, 2004. "A Pioneer's Perspective on the Spatial Mismatch Literature," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(1), pages 7-32, January.
    3. Bruce A. Weinberg & Patricia B. Reagan & Jeffrey J. Yankow, 2004. "Do Neighborhoods Affect Hours Worked? Evidence from Longitudinal Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(4), pages 891-924, October.
    4. Laurent Gobillon & Harris Selod & Yves Zenou, 2007. "The Mechanisms of Spatial Mismatch," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(12), pages 2401-2427, November.
    5. Jangik Jin & Kurt Paulsen, 2018. "Does accessibility matter? Understanding the effect of job accessibility on labour market outcomes," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(1), pages 91-115, January.
    6. Weinberg, Bruce A., 2000. "Black Residential Centralization and the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 110-134, July.
    7. 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.
    8. Shengyi Gao & Patricia Mokhtarian & Robert Johnston, 2008. "Exploring the connections among job accessibility, employment, income, and auto ownership using structural equation modeling," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 42(2), pages 341-356, June.
    9. Maré, David C. & Fabling, Richard & Hyslop, Dean, 2023. "Job Displacement and Local Employment Density," IZA Discussion Papers 16685, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Daniel Immergluck, 1998. "Job Proximity and the Urban Employment Problem: Do Suitable Nearby Jobs Improve Neighbourhood Employment Rates?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(1), pages 7-23, January.
    11. Cervero, Robert & Sandoval, Onésimo & Landis, John, 2000. "Transportation as a Stimulus to Welfare-to-Work: Private Versus Public Mobility," University of California Transportation Center, Working Papers qt9q97b1tp, University of California Transportation Center.
    12. Valerie Preston & Sara McLafferty, 1999. "articles: Spatial mismatch research in the 1990s: progress and potential," Papers in Regional Science, Springer;Regional Science Association International, vol. 78(4), pages 387-402.
    13. Judith K. Hellerstein & David Neumark, 2011. "Employment in Black Urban Labor Markets: Problems and Solutions," NBER Working Papers 16986, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Kelly DeRango, 2001. "Can Commutes Be Used to Test the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 38(9), pages 1521-1529, August.
    15. Rogers, Cynthia L., 1997. "Job Search and Unemployment Duration: Implications for the Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 109-132, July.
    16. Michael A. Stoll & Harry J. Holzer & Keith R. Ihlanfeldt, 2000. "Within cities and suburbs: Racial residential concentration and the spatial distribution of employment opportunities across sub-metropolitan areas," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(2), pages 207-231.
    17. Stoll, Michael A., 1999. "Spatial Job Search, Spatial Mismatch, and the Employment and Wages of Racial and Ethnic Groups in Los Angeles," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 129-155, July.
    18. Laurent Gobillon & Harris Selod & Yves Zenou, 2002. "Spatial Mismatch : From the Hypothesis of the Theories," Working Papers 2002-57, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    19. Weinberg, Bruce A., 2004. "Testing the spatial mismatch hypothesis using inter-city variations in industrial composition," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 505-532, September.
    20. John Iceland & David R. Harris, 1998. "Why Work Disappears: Neighborhood Racial Composition and Employers' Relocation Intentions," JCPR Working Papers 45, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:nbr:nberwo:32252. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/nberrus.html .

    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.