Linking dichotomous segregation with multi-group segregation: Weighted segregation ratios in selected U.S. metropolitan areas

Abstract

The U. S. residential landscape is increasingly multi-racial and multi-ethnic, giving rise to the question of how to compare dichotomous segregation among multiple groups living in the same area. To address the problem in the existing dichotomous approach, which offers no common basis for comparing dichotomous segregation among multiple groups, this paper develops a weighted segregation ratio approach based on Theil's segregation index and its additive decomposability. This approach can be used to bridge information obtained from dichotomous segregation between specific groups (such as black-white and black-Hispanic), and dichotomous segregation between group and non-group (such as white-non-white and black-non-black) in previous studies. We apply both dichotomous and weighted segregation ratio approaches to 1990 and 2000 U. S. census data. Results are interpreted for five selected metropolitan areas as well as for the weighted national average. This new approach yields distinctive findings that portray the complicated process of residential segregation, including the increasing significance of Hispanic segregation and Asian segregation in the decade from 1990 to 2000.

Do birds of a feather play football together? A study on ethnic segregation in Dutch amateur football

“…This, in turn, can draw in more co-ethnic members, especially those who attach high value to homophilic ties, thereby further strengthening ethnic concentration and segregation. A similar pattern is found from studies on residential segregation of blacks in the United States, in which increases in group size seem to stimulate segregation (Hao & Fong, 2011). The relation between group size and segregation is likely to be particularly influential for minority groups, as changes in numbers and relative group size can have a substantial impact on their opportunities for homophilic tie formation, unlike majority group members for whom these opportunities are often guaranteed.…”

“…The information theory index is an entropy-based measure, meaning its calculation is based on entropy score E, sometimes described as the diversity index or score (Hao & Fong, 2011;Iceland, 2004). The entropy score expresses the degree of uncertainty about group membership when randomly selecting an individual from a population, assuming mutually exclusive groups.…”

Youthful victimization in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina: A multi-level analysis of a national sample

“…Theil's H (Theil's diversity index). Thiel (1972) proposed a diversity index that combines information on the number of entities or groups in a unit (for example, a school) and the corresponding proportion of each group within the unit (Hao and Fong, 2011). 2 Zero occurs when all individuals are members of a single group (no diversity) and the maximum score occurs if individuals are evenly distributed among the M groups.…”

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