Download So close yet so unequal: Reconsidering spatial

So close yet so unequal: Reconsidering spatial
inequality in U.S. cities
Francesco Andreoli∗1 and Eugenio Peluso2
1
Luxembourg Institute of Socio Economic Research (LISER) – Maison des Sciences Humaines 11, Porte
des Sciences L-4366 Esch-sur-Alzette / Belval, Luxembourg
2
Department of Economics - University of Verona – Via dell’Artigliere 8, 37129 Verona, Italy
Abstract
We study spatial inequality at the urban level by focusing on the distribution of income
across individuals and their neighbors. We develop and study new Gini-type spatial inequality indices: the rst index measures the average degree of income inequality occurring within
individual neighborhoods; the second index measures the inequality in average incomes observed across individual neighborhoods. We investigate connections with geostatistics and
derive the asymptotic distributions of these indices. We use a rich income database from
the U.S. census to establish new stylized facts about the patterns of spatial inequality in the
50 largest American cities during the last 35 years. We bring new evidence that inequality
within individual neighborhoods is substantial in American cities, even in individual neighborhoods of small size, and it is generally on the rise. Data reveal that rising inequality
within the neighborhood have signicant yet contrasting implications on lifelong economic
and health achievements of urban residents.
Keywords: both
∗
Speaker
sciencesconf.org:lagv2017:134389