Premium
Public transit and the spatial distribution of minority employment: Evidence from a natural experiment
Author(s) -
Holzer Harry J.,
Quigley John M.,
Raphael Steven
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of policy analysis and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.898
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1520-6688
pISSN - 0276-8739
DOI - 10.1002/pam.10139
Subject(s) - natural experiment , demographic economics , spatial mismatch , distribution (mathematics) , public transport , bay , business , public service , political science , geography , labour economics , economic growth , economics , public administration , mathematical analysis , statistics , mathematics , archaeology , law
A recent expansion of the San Francisco Bay Area's heavy rail system represents an exogenous change inthe accessibility of inner‐city minority communities to a concentrated suburban employment center. Weevaluate this natural experiment by conducting a two‐wave longitudinal survey of firms, with the firstwave of interviews conducted immediately before the opening of service, and the second wave approximately a yearlater. Within‐firm changes in the propensity to hire minority workers for firms near the station werecompared with those located farther away. Also estimated was the effect of employer distance to the new stationson changes in propensity to hire minorities. Results indicate a sizable increase in the hiring of Latinos nearthe new stations, but little evidence of an effect on black hiring rates. © 2003 by the Association forPublic Policy Analysis and Management.