Social interactions, residential segregation and the dynamics of tipping

Abstract We develop an analytically tractable population dynamics model of heterogeneous agents to characterize how social interactions within a neighborhood determine the dynamic evolution its ethnic composition. conditions under which integration or segregation will occur, depends on majority’s externality parameter and net benefit from leaving, minority’s leaving probability. Minority may result process tipping, arise three possible channels: two are related exogenous shocks (migration flows changes in tipping points) one is endogenous probabilistic features our framework (endogenous polarization). This characterization yields interesting policy implications for urban planning policies mitigate segregation.