Social issues in urban economics (Northern Ireland)

The dissertation is comprised of three papers focusing on two distinct social topics in Urban Economics: segregation and the formation of social capital.; Chapter One “The Nature of Segregation in the Belfast Housing Market” uses data from Belfast, Northern Ireland, a city divided along religious lines, to address three main questions: (a) is there a evidence of a difference in tastes for segregation or integration between the two communities, (b) to what extent are attitudes influenced by social class and (c) can a desire for segregation be explained by a desire for ‘safety’, given the ongoing political violence in Northern Ireland?; Evidence from both a hedonic price analysis on property sale prices and analysis of individuals' stated preference for living in a segregated or integrated neighbourhood suggests a desire for segregation among Protestants, and funnelling occurring in Catholic areas. The desire for segregation is to some extent mitigated by belonging to a higher social class. Controlling for violence does not overturn these conclusions.; The second and third chapters both deal with creation of social capital within communities. The second essay extends the definition of social capital beyond that commonly used in US studies to include not just a ‘formal’ aspect (organisation membership), but also informal linkages within the community which also use time. It allows for the potential of wage benefits arising directly from formal organisation membership. Simulations of a model in which an individual allocates his time to work, formal organisations and informal linkages, where wage rate is determined by time spent in formal organizations, show that it is possible for higher income individuals to spend relatively more time in formal pursuits and relatively less in informal compared to lower income individuals. Data from the British Social Attitudes Survey are analysed to investigate the potential for such division in practice. Evidence is presented to show that a division in the type of social capital formed is apparent based on social class and income differentials.; Chapter Three empirically investigates and confirms the assumption made in the second chapter's model, that formal social capital positively affects income, using a latent variable structural equations model.