Being close to ethnic peers: the formation of ethnic residential clustering from a household perspective

To assess the impact of segregation a better understanding is required why minorities and natives decide to move closer to ethnic peers. This study investigates the drivers for ethnic residential clustering from a household perspective. For this, household panel data for Germany is linked to small-scale information on the share of co-ethnic neighbours and to the number of regional housing offers and requests. As a result, life-course changes and indicators of cultural openness show similar effects on ethnic residential clustering for migrants and natives. For both, becoming married, inter-ethnic partnerships and moving out of the parental home lead to lower shares of neighbours with the same ethnic background. Major differences exist regarding contextual factors. Natives are more likely to self-segregate in times of increasing housing supply while migrants seem to face limitations in access to housing in times of increasing housing demand. The results highlight the importance of the housing market and the relation of moving choices between migrants and natives in the formation of ethnic residential clustering.