Moving Beyond Access: Examining Racial Variation in Sentiment Towards Nearby Businesses in Baltimore

• In Event: 30661 - Section on Sociology of Consumers and Consumption Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2. Consumption and social inequality

Abstract

Racial/ethnic discrimination is documented at multiple levels of the social structure in the marketplace, with both racial profiling in consumer settings and racial disparities in access to goods (i.e., food deserts) being well-evidenced. Relatively little is known, however, about how people feel towards businesses, especially those in their neighborhood environments, and how this sentiment may vary by race. Using representative survey data from Baltimore City and Baltimore County as well as historical business data, this study analyzes racial variation in sentiment towards nearby businesses, and examines the relationship between sentiment, race, and neighborhood characteristics, centrally race and retail availability. Controlling for retail availability, I find that neighborhood racial composition is more salient than individual race for predicting the extent to which people feel served by businesses, with residents of neighborhoods with larger Black compositions being less likely to report having their needs met. When considering trust in businesses, however, I find that the reverse is true; regardless of neighborhood racial composition and retail availability, Black residents are less likely to report trusting neighborhood businesses than their white counterparts. These findings emphasize the dimensionality of sentiment towards businesses, as well as raise questions about equality of “access” to businesses.

Author

• Marin Olson Beal, Johns Hopkins University