Citation

Liska AE, Bellair PE. Am. J. Sociol. 1995; 101(3): 578-610.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, University of Chicago Press)

DOI

10.1086/230754

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Considerable research reports that racial composition strongly affects violent-crime rates. Unfortunately, most research ignores the possibility that violent-crime rates may affect racial composition. Using a sample of U. S. cities, the authors examine the reciprocal effects of racial composition and violent-crime rates over the last 40 years. While racial composition strongly affects the change in violent-crime rates from 1980 to 1990, it only minimally affects changes in rates for the previous three decades; but violent-crime rates (especially robbery) substantially affect the change in racial composition for all four decades. Indeed, robbery rates appear to play a significant role in the white flight from central cities.