A different place to different people: Conditional neighbourhood effects on residents' socio-economic status

Many scholars in the social sciences have studied neighbourhood effects on economic prospects - that is, the idea that the socio-economic composition of a neighbourhood influences its residents' work aspirations and employment opportunities. The logic of social-interactive mechanisms is at the core of the neighbourhood effects debate; socialisation and social contacts in the neighbourhood are believed to either limit or enhance economic opportunities of its residents. But as residents are socially differently embedded in the neighbourhood, it is unlikely that these social-interactive mechanisms pertain to all residents of a neighbourhood to the same extent. This dissertation formulated clear and testable hypotheses on the conditionality of the neighbourhood effects for specific subgroups in light of the social-interactive mechanisms, thereby setting forth a research agenda that aims to establish both a theoretical and a methodological framework for the neighbourhood effects heterogeneity. The aim of this dissertation was to answer the question to what extent the impact of the level of deprivation in the neighbourhood of residence on residents' socio-economic outcomes is conditional upon neighbourhood-specific social contacts and interactions, residential histories, household configurations, and relocation destinations after urban renewal. The empirical chapters showed that the magnitude of the impact of neighbourhood level of deprivation on individual socioeconomic outcomes is rather variable and that not every modifier is of equal importance. Neighbourhood effects arise under specific conditions and circumstances: these effects are not homogeneous across different residents within a neighbourhood, but mainly depend on the specific individual residential histories and household configurations