Full Citation

Title: Black Migration, White Flight: The Effect of Black Migration on Northern Cities and Labor Markets

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2006

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Abstract: In the decades following World War II, the center of gravity in American urban areas shifted from the inner city to the suburban ring.1 Suburbanization occurred along- side an influx of black migrants from the rural South, the majority of whom settled in downtown areas. My dissertation begins by assessing the causal relationship between this growing black urban population and white relocation to the suburbs. I then explore the motivation of households that left racially diverse cities. The existing historical literature on white flight emphasizes white distaste for living near black neighbors.3 However, because cities were already highly segregated by neighborhood, avoiding black neighbors did not require a suburban address. I focus instead on the civic costs of living in a diverse jurisdiction. These include compromising on public goods and sharing a single school system. Lastly, I consider the effect of black migration on the wages of similarly skilled workers in the northern labor market.

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Authors: Boustan, Leah P.

Institution: Harvard University

Department: Department of Economics

Advisor: Professors Claudia Goldin

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Publisher Location: Cambridge, MA

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Housing and Segregation, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Migration and Immigration, Poverty and Welfare, Race and Ethnicity

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