Topic: Residential patterns and local public goods in urban Brazil

Presenter: Mariaflavia (Nina) Harari

Session Details: Millions of migrants in developing countries move to urban areas in search of better prospects, but access to economic opportunities varies widely within cities. Yet, we know little about spatial inequalities within developing country cities. This paper studies patterns of residence and local public goods access by socio-economic status within Brazilian cities, making two contributions. First, I innovate on the measurement of residential segregation by computing spatial metrics of “distance segregation”, capturing the physical proximity between low- and high-socio-economic status neighborhoods. I document descriptive patterns by income, race, and informality. Within cities, distance-segregated neighborhoods have lower access to local public goods. Second, I explore the causal link between residential patterns and access to public goods. Using an instrumental variables strategy based on within-city geography, I investigate how the levels and spatial allocation of public goods are affected by segregation. Cities where the poor and the rich live further apart have a lower share of households connected to sewerage and water, worse neighborhood quality, and lower access to public amenities. I consider mechanisms such as redistributive preferences, externalities across neighborhoods, and strategic underprovision of public services to deter the poor. Additionally, I provide suggestive evidence on some of the historical determinants of distance segregation, such as infectious diseases. These findings help inform the debate on policies such as slum clearance and relocations, social housing, and the spatial targeting of public goods.

This session will be a seminar and participants are not required to read a paper beforehand.

For more information, reach out to pdri-devlab@sas.upenn.edu