Do VA Mortgages Promote Neighborhood Integration?

• In Event: 559 - Regular Session. Segregation

Abstract

Neighborhood segregation by race and class remains an important source of social stratification. Past analyses of segregation (e.g., Farley and Frey 1994) have found that the presence of military installations significantly reduces racial segregation at the metropolitan level. As a uniquely integrated institution, it is not surprising that active service corresponds with lower levels of segregation. However, previous work has not examined the racial or class segregation and isolation of veterans, whose residential location decisions are more of a matter of choice. In this paper describe the racial segregation of veterans with VA mortgages across 52 metropolitan areas. I find that black and Latino veterans are substantially less segregated than comparable homeowners, home buyers, or the general population. To test the argument that service in the military and use of VA mortgages promotes neighborhood integration, I examine individual-level neighborhood attainment outcomes in terms of race and class of veterans in the metro areas of Memphis, Tennessee and Phoenix, Arizona from 2002 to 2012. Controlling for an array of confounding factors and accounting for spatial location I find that black, white, and Latino veterans live in less racially isolated neighborhoods and that black and Latino veterans live in more affluent neighborhoods than otherwise expected. Therefore, compared to similarly situated homeowners and home buyers in these cities, veterans with VA mortgages appear to be uniquely integrated with respect to both race and class. I discuss the implications of these preliminary findings for sociology, housing policy, and potential future research.

Author

• Jacob S. Rugh, Brigham Young University