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Urban Studies, Vol. 45, No. 1, 89-113 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0042098007085103
© 2008 Urban Studies Journal Limited

Residential Segregation and Unemployment: The Case of Brussels

Claire Dujardin

Department of Geography and CORE (Center for Operations Research and Econometrics) and at FNRS. CORE, Université catholique de Louvain, 34 Voie du Roman Pays, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, claire.dujardin{at}uclouvain.be

Harris Selod

CREST and CEPR, London, Paris School of Economics, 48 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris, France, selod{at}ens.fr

Isabelle Thomas

Department of Geography and CORE (Center for Operations Research and Econometrics) and at FNRS. CORE, Université catholique de Louvain, 34 Voie du Roman Pays, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, isabelle.thomas{at}uclouvain.be

This paper investigates the causal effects of the spatial organisation of Brussels on unemployment propensities. Using census data at the individual level, the unemployment probability of young adults is estimated while taking into account personal, household and neighbourhood characteristics. The endogeneity of residential locations is solved by restricting the sample to young adults residing with their parents; the potential remaining bias is evaluated by conducting a sensitivity analysis. The results suggest that the neighbourhood of residence significantly increases a youngster's probability of being unemployed, a result which is quite robust to the presence of both observed and unobserved parental covariates.

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This Article
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Right arrow Articles by Thomas, I.
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