Publications [#227103] of Elizabeth O. Ananat

Papers Published

1. Ananat, EO, The wrong side(s) of the tracks: The causal effects of racial segregation on urban poverty and inequality, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol. 3 no. 2 (April, 2011), pp. 34-66, American Economic Association, ISSN 1945-7782 [pdf], [doi] [poverty, racial inequality]
   (last updated on 2023/08/08)

   Abstract:
   A striking negative correlation exists between an area's residential racial segregation and its population characteristics, but it is recognized that this relationship may not be causal. I present a novel test of causality from segregation to population characteristics by exploiting the arrangements of railroad tracks in the nineteenth century to isolate plausibly exogenous variation in areas' susceptibility to segregation. I show that this variation satisfies the requirements for a valid instrument. Instrumental variables estimates demonstrate that segregation increases metropolitan rates of black poverty and overall black-white income disparities, while decreasing rates of white poverty and inequality within the white population.