Spatial factors and the employment of blacks at the firm level

In this paper we use data from a new survey of over 3,000 employers in four major metropolitan areas to investigate the determinants of black employment and wages at the firm level. We focus specifically on two factors that are likely to influence the spatial distribution of black employment: the proximity of firms to the residential locations of various racial groups and to public transit. We also consider the effects on black employment of other factors, such as employers' skill needs and some likely determinants of their preferences across groups. Our main finding is that employers' proximity to black residences and to public transit increases the likelihood that they will hire black employees. This is true even when we include detailed controls for the skills needed by employers and also for the race of customers and of those responsible for hiring, which independently affect the levels of black employment at firms. Proximity to public transit and especially to black residences accounts for major portions of the higher black employment rates at central-city than suburban firms. The residential effects are relatively strong for employers who recruit through informal methods and weak for those who use newspapers, thus suggesting that information may play a role in the distance effects. We also find some evidence that employers' proximity to black residential populations results in lower wages for workers.

Customer Discrimination and Employment Outcomes for Minority Workers

In this paper we investigate the effects of consumer discrimination on the employment and earnings of minorities, particularly blacks. We do so using data from a new survey of employers in four large metropolitan areas in the United States. Our results show that the racial composition of an establishment’s customers has sizable effects on the race of who gets hired, particularly in jobs that involve direct contact with customers. Although we find evidence of customer discrimination in both predominantly white and black establishments, the net effect of such discrimination appears to be some reduction in overall labor demand and wages for blacks. Evidence is also presented which suggests that the role of customer discrimination may be growing more important over time.

Spatial factors and the employment of blacks at the firm level

Minorities - Employment ; Income distribution

Economic Development Policy

This report addresses five weaknesses in Georgia's economic development program and recommends policies to overcome these weaknesses

Job Accessibility and the Employment and School Enrollment of Teenagers

Ihlanfeldt presents data that strongly support the spatial mismatch hypothesis for the high unemployment rate of disadvantaged teens. This theory, which the author thoroughly outlines in this work, asserts that the suburbanization of low-skill jobs and continued housing market segregation have reduced the job opportunities of inner-city dwelling minorities. This book extends Ihlanfeldt\u27s earlier work on spatial mismatch by incorporating school enrollment decisions and other urban factors into his analysis. Thus, he also demonstrates empirically that job access is related to the high school dropout problem and concludes that poor access to jobs is useful in explaining the relatively low economic welfare of urban blacks.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1088/thumbnail.jp

Within Cities and Suburbs: Racial Residential Concentration and the Spatial Distribution of Employment Opportunities across Submetropolitan Areas

In this paper, we examine and compare the spatial distributions of jobs and people across submetropolitan areas using data on firms from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality and data on people from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The results indicate that less-educated people and those on public assistance mostly reside in areas with high minority populations. Low-skill jobs are quite scarce in these areas, while the availability of such jobs relative to less-educated people in heavily white suburban areas is high. Large fractions of the low-skill jobs in these metropolitan areas are not accessible by public transit. Furthermore, there is significant variation within both central cities and suburbs in the ethnic composition of residents and in the availability of low-skill jobs. The ability of various minority groups to gain employment in each area depends heavily on the ethnic composition of the particular area.

Does Space Matter to the Employment of TANF Recipients? Evidence from a Dynamic Discrete Choice Model with Unobserved Effects

We study the factors affecting the employment probability of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients using recent quarterly panel data from Atlanta, Georgia. A central focus of our study is to determine whether the TANF recipient’s proximity to job opportunity and the availability of childcare affect her probability of full-time employment. Both static and dynamic models of employment choice are estimated that control for unobserved individual effects. We estimate models separately for a sub-sample of TANF recipients living in public housing, whose residential locations can be considered exogenously determined. We find substantial evidence that individual and family characteristics (such as, the education of the recipient and the number of children and adults in her family) are important determinants of the employment probability of welfare recipients. On the other hand, spacerelated variables are found to be relatively unimportant

The Role of Representative Agents in the Property Tax Appeals Process

Property tax appeals provide property owners with a mechanism to challenge their assessments and reduce their property tax bill. Appeals are frequently filed not by the homeowner but by a tax representative who often works on their behalf for a contingency fee. Using appeals from Miami-Dade County, Florida, we find that representatives have a greater presence in higher-priced neighborhoods, which makes these homeowners more likely to appeal than those in lower-priced neighborhoods, and representatives increase the percentage reduction in assessed value, but only because they increase the likelihood that appellants show up for the appeal hearings

The Role of Representative Agents in the Property Tax Appeals Process

Property tax appeals provide property owners with a mechanism to challenge their assessments and reduce their property tax bill. Appeals are frequently filed not by the homeowner but by a tax representative who often works on their behalf for a contingency fee. Using appeals from Miami-Dade County, Florida, we find that representatives have a greater presence in higher-priced neighborhoods, which makes these homeowners more likely to appeal than those in lower-priced neighborhoods, and representatives increase the percentage reduction in assessed value, but only because they increase the likelihood that appellants show up for the appeal hearings

An Empirical Analysis of the Property Tax Appeals Process

Property tax appeals have increased dramatically at significant cost to local governments. Little is known about whether or how well the appeals process resolves potential assessment errors. This paper investigates the efficiency and equity of this process. Regarding the efficiency of correcting assessment error, reductions are granted for a majority of appealing homeowners who are overassessed but also for homeowners who are not overassessed, leaving them underassessed or further underassessed. Regarding the fairness of the appeals process, homeowners from particular neighborhoods receive assessment reductions more often. Tax representatives play an important role in explaining the advantage enjoyed by these homeowners