Research on segregation and economic inequality is often limited to major capitals and conurbations, neglecting smaller cities. This oversight can lead to public policies based on insights that may not be universally applicable. Leveraging geo-coded register data, this study addresses this problem in the case of the Netherlands by computing income inequality and residential segregation annually in all urban areas from 2011 to 2022. Contrary to most literature, this paper shows that inequality and segregation have remained stable or decreased in most cases. In addition, when looking at how income is distributed among social segments, how segregated they are, and at which geographical scale segregation occurs, we find significant variation between urban areas. More unequal urban areas also tend to be more segregated, but patterns vary, and the same segregation levels can coexist with diverse inequality metrics. Four groups of urban areas are identified through a cluster analysis.

Spanish researchers reveal how origin and cultural affinity shape the chances of accessing housing. Although the discrimination detected against the Chinese population is described as "moderate," the authors warn that it amounts to more than a minor inconvenience: an inequality that accumulates over time and prolongs the housing search for those who experience it.

Research on rental housing discrimination (RHD) against migrant minorities has overwhelmingly focused on the first generation, paying special attention to the most sizeable immigrant groups. As a result, we still know little about the housing-market experiences of immigrants’ children and the less sizeable—but often fast-growing—ethnic minorities. RHD research has also lagged behind the spectacular growth of online apps for conducting private rental transactions. We present a novel instant messaging correspondence test to study (real) private landlords’ responses to (fictitious) flat seekers of native and Chinese background in Madrid, Spain. Drawing on instant messaging allows us to introduce innovative treatments for phenotype and cultural assimilation. We find moderate levels of RHD against visibly Chinese-background applicants with a fully Chinese name and who use full Chinese characters in their WhatsApp status profile (low assimilation condition) but very low levels of discrimination against visibly identical applicants who combine a Spanish first name with a Chinese last name (typical of the second generation) and who use the word “Madrid” in Latin alphabet in their app status profile (high assimilation condition). Finally, we find adding signals of flat-seekers’ income reliability (diagnostic treatment) does not reduce discrimination propensity. Results are robust to stringent controls for ethnic composition and COVID-19 incidence rate at the district level. These findings highlight the primacy of perceived cultural assimilation over racial appearance and information deficits in shaping RHD against Chinese minorities in Spain and illustrate the analytical pay-offs of using instant messaging correspondence tests in discrimination research.

Este artículo ofrece una evaluación detallada y longitudinal de la desigualdad económica y la segregación residencial en todas las zonas urbanas de los Países Bajos, cubriendo el periodo de 2003 a 2010. Al utilizar microdatos que abarcan la totalidad de la población del país, estimamos el nivel de segregación por ingresos mediante el Rank-Order Information Theory Index (ROITI), un indicador avanzado que se adapta a la naturaleza continua de la variable y no necesita establecer categorías de renta arbitrarias. Además, el ROITI permite una desagregación de la estimación al nivel de cada percentil, de forma que nos capacita para estimar la segregación de la pobreza y la segregación de la riqueza como dos elementos diferenciados. Las estimaciones muestran una asociación positiva entre desigualdad y segregación, aunque existe una variación considerable entre zonas urbanas y su evolución en el tiempo. Además, nuestros hallazgos confirman que los hogares más acomodados tienden a estar más separados en el espacio que la población más pobre. Sin embargo, los niveles de segregación de los diferentes segmentos de la distribución de los ingresos han variado de manera muy dispar entre las zonas urbanas de Países Bajos. Estos resultados indican que la segregación constituye un fenómeno distinto entre diferentes áreas geográficas, a lo largo del tiempo y entre distintos grupos sociales.