Teenage Employment and the Spatial Isolation of Minority and Poverty Households

JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCES, Vol. 31, No. 3, Summer 1996

Posted: 10 Jan 1997

See all articles by Katherine M. O'Regan

Katherine M. O'Regan

New York University (NYU) - Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

John M. Quigley

University of California, Berkeley, College of Letters & Science, Department of Economics (Deceased); University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Real Estate Group (Deceased)

Abstract

This paper tests the importance of the spatial isolation of minority and poverty households for youth employment in large metropolitan areas. We estimate a model relating youth employment probabilities to individual and family characteristics, race and metropolitan location. We then investigate the determinants of the systematic differences in employment probabilities by race and metropolitan area. A substantial fraction of differences in youth employment can be attributed to the isolation of minorities and poor households. Minority youth residing in more segregated cities or cities in which minorities have less contact with nonpoor households have lower employment probabilities than otherwise comparable youth. Simulations suggest that these spatial effects explain a substantial fraction of the existing differences in youth employment rates by race.

JEL Classification: J71, J64, R23

Suggested Citation

O'Regan, Katherine M. and Quigley, John M., Teenage Employment and the Spatial Isolation of Minority and Poverty Households. JOURNAL OF HUMAN RESOURCES, Vol. 31, No. 3, Summer 1996, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3640

Katherine M. O'Regan (Contact Author)

New York University (NYU) - Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service ( email )

The Puck Building
295 Lafayette Street, Second Floor
New York, NY 10012
United States
212-998-7498 (Phone)
212-995-3890 (Fax)

John M. Quigley

University of California, Berkeley, College of Letters & Science, Department of Economics (Deceased) ( email )

Berkeley, CA 94720-3880
United States
510-643-7411 (Phone)
510-643-7357 (Fax)

University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Real Estate Group (Deceased) ( email )

Berkeley, CA 94720-1900
United States

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