The segregation of Asian-origin groups in the United States and Canada

Abstract

We examine the comparative residential segregation of Asian-origin groups in the United States and Canada. For over 100 years immigrants have made their way from Asia to North America. This stream of immigrants has varied in composition by nationality and demographic structure. Moreover, the two host countries have varied in the composition of arriving immigrants and in the policies afforded various ethnic minorities. We use 1990 (and 1991) census data from the two countries to examine the determinants of metropolitan segregation for several Asian-origin groups. We employ regression analysis on pooled group-specific data, and in so doing, help identify the structural, national, and ethnic predictors of segregation. Our results show that the process of segregation differs in the two nations, although we do find that in both counties, Asian-origin persons are more segregated in larger cities with older demographic and industrial structure. We find moderate differences (versus a reference group of blacks) across Asian groups, although these differences are more pronounced in Canada than the United States. At the same time, overall segregation is somewhat lower in Canada. Notably, recent housing construction and relative incomes are less important in predicting segregation in Canada. The results suggest caution in extra-polating US-based models to other settings. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.