Ethnic drift and white flight: A gravity model of neighborhood formation

Most research on ethnic relocation at the neighborhood level focuses on either in-migration or out-migration, considering characteristics of either the origin or the destination neighborhood. Gravity models consider characteristics of both the origin and destination of movers, but are mostly used to explain international or interregional migrant flows. We estimate a gravity model at the neighborhood level to identify the role of ethnic heterogeneity across space in two Dutch cities, explaining both size and ethnic composition of mover flows within cities. Our findings suggest a preference for living with the own ethnic group in an otherwise diverse neighborhood.