Homogeneity tests of Tiebout sorting: A case study at the interface of city and suburb

Abstract

The Tiebout hypothesis has stimulated 50 years of research into the relationship between residential location and local taxes and services. One line of research has focused on socioeconomic homogeneity as an indicator of Tiebout sorting. I argue that spatial dependence of socioeconomic variables confounds attempts to attribute sorting to Tiebout processes. Socioeconomic sorting is investigated in Queens and Nassau Counties, NY, one a jurisdictionally unified central city, the other a jurisdictionally fragmented suburban county. Socioeconomic differences between neighbouring census tracts are quantified throughout the study area and regressed on variables representing general purpose local governments and school districts. There is strong evidence of income sorting across small suburban municipalities, while the evidence of income sorting across school districts is ambiguous. I conclude that income sorting may not be as important at the school district level as generally believed, and previous research may have misattributed the political scale of household choice.