Schelling's Model of Segregation Flashcards
What was the intent of Schelling segregation model?
Schelling was trying to show that individual preferences which he calls micro motives do not always lead to a matched outcome when they are aggregated and can actually lead to a macro behaviour that is extreme. Thus the racial model showed that only 1/3 preference of living around people of the same ethnic group, in relation to 8 neighbour can lead to highly segregated distribution.
Define the 4 features of the segregation model
1) Society composed two groups of people: greens; and blues.
2) Geographical area covered by the society represented by a draughts board; members of each group are represented by green and blue counters respectively.
3) Each individual occupies a particular square on the board.
4) Each person is concerned about the kinds of people who occupy the 8 squares immediately adjacent to the one (s)he occupies (i.e. his/her neighbourhood).
describe the main rule of the game
As long at the balance of 1/3 of 8 closest neighbour are of the same colour, a person will stay as they are happy. When this balance changes they will move as they have become unhappy.
Why does tipping lead to segregation?
Tipping is a self reinforcing process. Some people will be happy from their initial position but some will be unhappy. Each move made by someone affects the neighbour they leave behind and the neighbours that welcome them. their decision will in turn affect still more people, etc., which in turn encourages still larger numbers of people to move.
what is the segregation model an example of?
Of perverse spontaneous order. Segregation reflects macro-level behaviour of society as a whole and is hard to predict from knowledge of the micro-level properties . Understanding causal mechanism through which such unintended consequences arise requires us to examine how the actions of the different individuals affect each other’s decisions.
