Residence choices of Hispanic neighborhoods in Nevada

A well-known characteristic of Hispanic in the U.S. is their tendency to concentrate their settlement area in distinct locations. This study merges aggregate data of localities with micro observations to estimate the joint decisions of residential location and homeownership choice for Hispanics. To address the possibility that the disturbances in the regression may be correlated within groups, we apply a bivarite probit framework clustered by localities (PUMAs), using the Public Use Micro Statistics of Census 2000 data for Nevada. The results suggests that Hispanics choose to live in Hispanic enclaves are characterized by lower income, less English fluency, lower educational attainments and recent migration. Assessing the interaction of the homeownership decisions and location choice, we find that these two residential decisions are simultaneously determined and they have significantly positive effects on each other