Metropolitan Fragmentation and Suburban Ghettos: Some Empirical Observations on Institutional Racism

Are citizens in predominantly black neighborhoods or communities better off with public services provided by a consolidated government where blacks are in the minority than when they control municipal government in an autonomous suburban setting? This paper reports using a comparison group design to investigate four hypotheses: that blacks in predominantly black suburbs in a fragmented environment (1) enjoy more services, (2) evidence lower dissatisfaction with services, (3) are less disaffected, and (4) participate more than minorities in a consolidated government. Contrary to public choice expectations, the findings indicate substantial evidence for traditional reformers' beliefs in the advantages of consolidated government.