Dissecting income segregation: Impacts of concentrated affluence on segregation of poverty

Authored by Mustafa Yavas

Date Published: 2019

DOI: 10.1080/0022250x.2018.1476858

Sponsors: No sponsors listed

Platforms: NetLogo

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

This article investigates how income inequality shapes residential segregation by income. Using agent-based modeling, it develops a residential preferences model that is capable of generating results mimicking empirical income segregation patterns. Simulation analysis shows how varying income inequality produces differential residential mobility outcomes that alter income segregation profiles. The model is used to capture the distinct impacts of households' moves into richer or poorer neighborhoods, and how these impacts are further differentiated with respect to the moving household's income. The article demonstrates how aggregating such diverse outcomes of micro-level interactions at a meso-level can help us to better understand the changes in macro-level income segregation patterns. Analyzing residential mobility patterns carefully, the article suggests that i) segregation of affluence and of poverty can trigger each other via initiating cascades of residential mobility and housing prices, and ii) increasing income inequality can disrupt housing market and lead to shortages in affordable housing, which can yield high residential instability and eviction rates among the poorest stratum.
Tags
Agent-based modeling Crime Inequality analytical sociology Model residential segregation Mechanisms neighborhoods Ethnic-preferences Income inequality Concentration of affluence Concentration of poverty Eviction Income segregation Social distance dynamics Economic segregation