Ethnic Sorting in The Netherlands

Abstract

This paper examines the residential mobility behaviour of immigrants and natives in The Netherlands using a rich administrative individual data file. The inclination to move and the choice of destination neighbourhood are estimated, correcting for the selection bias of movers. Subsequently, the role of preferences and discrimination in the mobility behaviour is implicitly derived from regression estimates. The analysis shows that the percentage of natives in the destination neighbourhood is predicted to be about 18 percentage points lower for non-Western immigrants than for natives. About 65 per cent of the differential is explained by their observable characteristics; the remaining part can largely be attributed to preferences and discrimination. No indication is found of the spatial assimilation of second-generation non-Western immigrants. On the other hand, the mobility pattern of the second-generation Western immigrants is similar to that of natives.