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The Review of Economics and Statistics Vol. 90 No. 3 2008

Is the Melting Pot Still Hot? Explaining the Resurgence of Immigrant Segregation

David Cutler1; Edward L. Glaeser1; Jacob L. Vigdor2

1 Harvard University · 2 Duke University

open access

Abstract

This paper uses decennial Census data to examine the residential integration of the foreign born in the United States between 1910 and 2000. Immigrant segregation declined in the first part of the century, but has been rising over the past few decades. Recent immigrants tend to hail from countries with greater cultural distinctions from U.S. natives, whether economic, racial, or linguistic. These factors explain much of the increase in segregation after 1970. Evidence also points to changes in urban form, particularly native-driven suburbanization and the decline of public transit as a transportation mode, as an explanation for the new immigrant segregation.

DOI
10.1162/rest.90.3.478
Volume
90
Issue
3
Pages
478-497
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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