Economic inequality and economic segregation: a systematic review of causal pathways

Abstract

Although economic inequality and economic segregation represent fundamental challenges of contemporary societies, their causal and empirical connections remain unclear. In particular, the direction of causality, causal pathways, and temporalities are not evident in the literature. This gap has two probable origins: (1) the discussion is dominated by a handful of studies from the United Stated published in the 2000s. This comes at the expense of a more plural and complex understanding of the phenomena in the rest of the world. (2) The literature on inequality and that of segregation are segmented by disciplines operating at different scales with corresponding theories, actors and mechanisms. To address these issues, I conduct an extensive systematic literature review of articles linking economic inequality to economic segregation across multiple languages and disciplines. Starting from 20,000+ references, I identify 80 relevant research articles to review. Most conclude that variations in economic segregation follow differences in economic inequality in the short term and that reverse causality is more probable in the longer term. The housing market is the most cited mediator between economic inequality and economic segregation, and a diversity of theories are mobilized to explain their empirical connections. Many articles are not presently comparable, but compatible definitions and measurements of inequality and segregation are rising.