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Abstract
I study the effect of zoning on segregation in Austin, Texas. I use municipal data on zoning for each address in Austin, and census data on demographics. I find that a one standard deviation increase in single-family zoning in a census block is associated with the population of that census block being 2.4 percentage points more White. To obtain a causal estimate, I restrict my sample to those census blocks directly adjacent to zoning boundaries. Next, I estimate the causal effect of a one standard deviation increase in single-family zoning to be that census blocks are 2.2 percentage points more White. Then, I adopt more sophisticated measures of segregation and test how those measures are related to zoning. Each measure I study leads to the same conclusion: single-family zoning contributes to segregation. Finally, I consider mechanisms for this effect, rejecting racial differences in income as the sole explanation for the zoning-segregation relationship.
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Publication Date
2023-05-02
English
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Economics 301
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