When and Where Residential Racial Segregation Matters for Black Self Employment

• In Event: 1140 - Blacks and African Americans

Abstract

Scholars debate whether residential racial segregation associates positively, negatively, or at all with the black self-employment rate in the United States. This study engages that debate using data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) 1980 5 percent State Sample and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS) five-year sample. Specifically, I examine the county-level association between residential racial segregation and the black self-employment rate in 1980 and 2010. Three indices measure residential racial segregation: (1) black-white dissimilarity, (2) black-white isolation, and (3) black clustering. The number of unincorporated black self-employees divided by the number of employed black adults (i.e., 16 years old and older) captures the black self-employment rate. Using fractional logit models net of control variables, I find that residential racial segregation does not consistently predict the black self-employment rate in 1980 but positively predicts it in the South by 2010.

Author

• Asia Inez Bento, Rice University