Born in Detroit: The Variable Influence of Metropolitan Residence in Childhood on Employment in Adulthood

• In Event: 212 - Section on Inequality, Poverty and Mobility Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Place and Space

Abstract

This paper examines the long-term effects of metropolitan area of residence in childhood on employment probability in young adulthood. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, I find a powerful influence of metropolitan area of residence at age 14 on employment probability between the ages 24 and 30. This largely reflects the fact that many individuals stay in their same metropolitan area as adults and the macro context of employment opportunity powerfully influences their chance of adult employment. However, the strength of the influence of metropolitan context on employment probability depends strongly on level of education of the respondent. College educated respondents are much less influenced by their metropolitan area of residence at 16, in large part because college education is linked to higher mobility away from metropolitan area of residence at 16. The results point toward an important but overlooked way in which the macro context matters for life chances, and also suggest that one way that education improves long-term mobility is by influencing the chances of migration away from metropolitan areas with weak economies.

Author

• Lincoln G. Quillian, Northwestern University