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Escape from the city? : the role of race, income, and local public goods in post-war suburbanization / Leah Platt Boustan

Author:
Boustan, Leah Platt
Published:
Cambridge, Mass. : National Bureau of Economic Research, [2007]
Copyright Date:
©2007
Physical Description:
44 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm.
Additional Creators:
National Bureau of Economic Research
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Summary:
Suburbs allow for sorting across towns, increasing inequality in resources for education and other local public goods. This paper demonstrates that postwar suburbanization was, in part, a flight from the declining income and changing racial composition of city residents. I estimate the marginal willingness to pay for town-level demographics -- holding neighborhood composition constant -- by comparing prices for housing units on either side of city-suburban borders (1960-1980). A one standard deviation increase in residents' median income was associated with a 3.5 percent housing price increase. Homeowners value the fiscal subsidy associated with a higher tax base, and the fiscal isolation from social problems (for example, spending on police). In addition, white households avoided racially diverse jurisdictions, particularly those that experienced rioting or underwent school desegregation.
Subject(s):
Note:
"August 2007."
Bibliography Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 27-29).
Other Forms:
Also available in PDF from the NBER World Wide Web site (www.nber.org).
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