Socioeconomic Segregation and Infant Health in the American Metropolitan, 1980-2000

Megan Andrew, University of Notre Dame
Maggie Hicken, University of Michigan

Residential segregation is a macro-level measure of social influence and resources, and race-ethnic segregation in particular has a robust demonstrated association with various population health outcomes. Though a large literature demonstrates important relationships between residential segregation and health, further study of these relationships is warranted given two recent trends. First, race-ethnic residential segregation that heavily marked the last century has since declined. Second, residential segregation by income and particularly education has increased over the same period. Little research directly addresses newer forms of residential segregation, and most research on residential segregation evaluates its different forms in isolation of each other. Using census and vital statistics data for 1980 through 2000, we evaluate the effects of different dimensions of residential segregation on metropolitan and individual-level infant health.