Locked in Segregation

69 Pages Posted: 15 Sep 2004

See all articles by Daria Roithmayr

Daria Roithmayr

University of Colorado at Boulder Law School

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Abstract

In earlier work, I have developed the lock-in model of inequality, which compares persistent racial inequality to persistent market monopoly power. In this article, I explore the implications of applying the lock-in model to the problem of residential segregation. Here, I put forward two central arguments. First, I argue that residential segregation constitutes an example of a locked-in racial monopoly. During the days of Jim Crow, white racial cartels (e.g., homeowners' associations and real estate boards) engaged in anti-competitive conduct to exclude blacks and monopolize access to good neighborhoods. That early neighborhood advantage has now become locked-in via certain self-reinforcing neighborhood effects, namely through public school finance and neighborhood job referral networks. Because the (white) rich get richer in neighborhoods with good schools and good job networks, nonwhites are relatively less able to move into more expensive white neighborhoods. Second, I argue that anti-discrimination law should shift its focus from individual intent to a lock-in framework. In contrast to the individual intent model, the lock-in model suggests that the definition of discrimination be expanded, to include persistent racial inequality that can be traced historically to earlier anti-competitive conduct. This definition, and the lock-in model itself, bring to light the historical, institutional and collective dimensions of racial inequality that the individual intent model suppresses.

Suggested Citation

Roithmayr, Daria, Locked in Segregation. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=587963 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.587963

Daria Roithmayr (Contact Author)

University of Colorado at Boulder Law School ( email )

401 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
135
Abstract Views
1,324
Rank
121,971
PlumX Metrics