Economic segregation has a direct impact on our view of inequality, says research

People are less likely to notice inequality and be concerned about it when economic segregation limits their exposure to wealth disparities, according to new research from Professor Asher Lawson at INSEAD, Professor Shai Davidai at Columbia Business School, and Professor Daniela Goya-Tocchetto at University of Buffalo.

The research combined over two decades worth of data measuring economic segregation in the US with data about inequality from the World Values Survey, examining also the effect of economic segregation on people’s attitudes towards inequality.

Participants were asked to imagine themselves living in four different cities in one country. For each city, they were shown images of a busy street and the incomes of 12 residents.

They were then assigned to one of two conditions: economically segregated or economically integrated. In the economic segregation condition, participants saw a country where people were grouped into cities based on income levels. In the economic integration condition, participants saw a country where individuals with high and low income lived in the same city.

The participants were asked to rate the level of inequality within each city, the fairness of the income distribution and their concerns about it. They were also asked to imagine themselves living in the country and to consider how often they would think about the amount of money that they and the people around them make.

The findings showed that participants in the economically segregated section perceived lower inequality than those in the economically integrated section. Those in the segregated section worried less about inequality and were expected to think less about their income and the income of others.

The study showed that that both real and hypothetical economic segregation significantly dampens concerns about inequality on a local and national level.

Professor Lawson says “Inequality often hides in plain sight, and it can be obscured by the fault lines of segregation. Whether you’re a policymaker planning cities and housing or a manager designing office spaces and work environments, it’s key to consider the role of exposure to diverse people – be it economic status or otherwise – and incorporate it as a central principle.”

This research was published in Nature Communications in Summer 2024 and can be read in full here.

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If you would like to see the paper, or to speak with Professor Lawson, please contact Georgina at georgina@bluesky-pr.com.