The Journal of Political Economy has published the paper “How segregated is urban consumption?” by Joan Monràs (UPF and Barcelona GSE) with Donald R. Davis, Jonathan I. Dingel, and Eduardo Morales.
In the paper, the researchers provide measures of ethnic and racial segregation in urban consumption. Using Yelp reviews, they estimate how spatial and social frictions influence restaurant visits within New York City. Transit time plays a first-order role in consumption choices, so consumption segregation partly reflects residential segregation. Social frictions also affect restaurant choices: individuals are less likely to visit venues in neighborhoods demographically different from their own. While spatial and social frictions jointly produce significant levels of consumption segregation, the researchers find that restaurant consumption is only about half as segregated as residences. Consumption segregation owes more to social than spatial frictions.
