Status discrepancy as a driver of residential mobility

Evidence from Oslo

Bibliographic Data

ID4138903
AuthorsGeorge Galster (0000-0001-5054-0898, Wayne State University, corresponding author), Lena Magnusson Turner (0000-0002-4877-2961, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University)
Year2017
Volume49
Issue9
Pages2155-2175
Publication date2017-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironment and Planning A Economy and Space (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-518X • E-ISSN: 1472-3409
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0308518x17717067
OpenAlexW2728493162
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited29

Planners have long advocated for "social mix" in neighborhoods without clear evidence that such mixing is stable over time. Indeed, if some groups perceive an intolerable discrepancy between their own economic status and that of their neighbors they may leave the neighborhood, thereby frustrating planners' goals. We conduct a longitudinal analysis of Oslo household intrametropolitan residential mobility employing a panel model with fixed effects for both households and neighborhoods and interactions for status groups, which provides estimates of plausible causal effects. We theoretically and empirically identify two dimensions of intraneighborhood status discrepancy that prove important predictors of leaving a neighborhood, though impacts differ strongly depending on household income status as defined by Oslo-wide standards. More extreme relative standing above the neighborhood median income promotes exit (especially for low- and middle-status households), suggesting a status signaling motive. For high-status households, being below the median neighborhood income proves influential for out-mobility, suggesting a relative deprivation motive. The overall status composition of the neighborhood is a powerful mobility influence for both low- and high-status households, suggesting a strong preference for homophily. Results imply that policy-generated introduction of low-status households will encourage the exit of high- and, to a lesser degree, middle-status neighbors

Demographic economics · Economics · Homophily · Microeconomics · Population · Preference · Social mobility · Social status · Socioeconomic status · Sociology · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban Transport and Accessibility · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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