Overview
Neighbourhoods affect the socioeconomic prospects of their inhabitants. Yet, despite theoretical suggestions little is known empirically about how and for whom the neighbourhood matters. Previous research often assumed that neighbourhood characteristics affect all inhabitants equally, but is that the case? By ignoring potential conditional relationships, neighbourhood effects have been consistently underestimated.
This project makes use of unique, high quality and longitudinal administrative data to investigate differential effects depending on social networks, length and time of residence and change in neighbourhoods. As differential effects would require differentiated policy solutions, the outcomes will be relevant to scholars and policy makers.
Funding
Results
These conditional neighbourhood effects upon social embeddedness in the neighbourhood are examined for 3272 individuals within 246 neighbourhoods in the Netherlands. Surprisingly, it is found that the association between neighbourhood's socio-economic conditions and resident's income is not different for individuals with a different degree of neighbourhood-specific social contacts and interactions. Consequently, this study challenges the core of the neighbourhood effects argument on socio-economic outcomes by questioning the often applied socialisation and resources mechanisms.