Project

The individual choice of residential location enforces social segregation. In Germany, such segregation by ethnic background, class or skill level have generated policy concerns since it is a catalyst for social inequality. One indicator for an increased segregation is a decoupled development of house prices within and between cities. This project aims to analyze mobility decisions of workers that yield in accelerated social segregation. An extensive analysis of the development of segregation within and between cities marks the starting point. Going beyond this descriptive work, causal analyses shall focus on different questions. Such broad analyses on reasons for segregation and about its influence on social inequality have not been done yet and there is no literature going beyond the level of cities or district comprehensively. Yet, comprehensive datasets for such analyses are not available on a sufficiently small scale. We build on a unique longitudinal dataset with fine regional information based on grid cells (1x1km) for the years 2007 to 2017. Structural information about population and housing prices will be combined with detailed employment biographies of the German workforce. For the first time, a complete set of variables is available to address the research questions empirically.

Project start:
01. April 2019

Project end:
30. September 2022

Project management:
Dr. Sandra Schaffner

Project staff:
Dr. Philipp Breidenbach, Dr. Fabian T. Dehos, Lukas Hörnig, Lea Eilers, Larissa Klick, Arijit Ghosh, Dr. Matthias Kaeding, Felix Heuer

Project partners:
Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Principal:
Geschäftsstelle der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft