The Changing Racial Gap in the Realization of Mobility Expectations,1970-2009

• In Event: 231 - Section on Sociology of Population Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 02. Race and Ethnicity in the United States: Critical Social Issues

Abstract

Racial stratification is a distinctive feature of American life. While we know much about the residential mobility processes structuring destination selection and perpetuating racial segregation, we know relatively little about the earlier stages of the residential mobility process in which mobility expectations are translated into actual mobility. In response to this relative gap in knowledge, we use longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine racial gaps in the translation of mobility expectations into actual mobility. Consistent with prior studies, results indicate that despite similar mobility expectations, black householders are significantly less likely than white householders to realize their mobility expectations. This racial gap persists after controlling for a variety of micro-level socioeconomic and socio-demographic, as well as neighborhood contextual characteristics. We also find evidence of a widening racial gap in the realization of mobility expectations between 1970 and 2009 that cannot be attributed to the impact of the Great Recession. Directions for future research into the widening racial gap in the expectation-mobility link are discussed.

Authors

• Thomas Bradley Foster, University of Washington

• Erin Carll, University of Washington