Should Policy Makers Strive for Neighborhood Social Mix? An Analysis of the Western European Evidence Base

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Abstract
The paper presents an analytical framework for elucidating the equity and social efficiency criteria that might be used to justify a housing policy aiming for a substantial mix of neighborhood residents by income, ethnicity and/or immigrant status. This framework permits the classification of multivariate statistical studies comprising the Western European evidence base and shows the importance of distinguishing intra- and extra-neighborhood processes when evaluating evidence related to the efficiency criterion. Evaluation of the evidence base in light of this framework reveals that it sufficiently supports a mixing policy aimed at avoiding concentrations of disadvantaged individuals if, and only if, policy makers emphasize equity grounds (i.e. improving the well-being of the disadvantaged absolutely). The evidence base does not support a mixing policy on efficiency grounds, regardless of whether intra-neighborhood social interactions or extra-neighborhood stigmatization/resource restrictions are presumed to be the primary causal mechanism for neighborhood effects.