Multi-city Study of Urban Inequality (MCSUI)

DESCRIPTION: The Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality was designed to broaden the understanding of how changing labor market dynamics, racial attitudes and stereotypes, and racial residential segregation act singly and in concert to foster contemporary urban inequality. Multistage area probability sampling of adult residents took place in four metropolitan areas: Atlanta (April 1992-September 1992), Boston (May 1993-November 1994), Detroit (April September 1992), and Los Angeles (September 1993-August 1994). The combined four-city data file contains data on survey questions that were asked in at least two of the four survey cities. Questions on labor market dynamics included industry, hours worked per week, length of time on job, earnings before taxes, size of employer, benefits provided, instances of harassment and discrimination, and searching for work within particular areas of the metropolis in which the respondent resided. Questions covering racial attitudes and attitudes about inequality centered on the attitudes and beliefs that whites, Blacks, Latinos, and Asians hold about one another, including amount of discrimination, perceptions about wealth and intelligence, ability to be self-supporting, ability to speak English, involvement with drugs and gangs, the fairness of job training and educational assistance policies, and the fairness of hiring and promotion preferences. Residential segregation issues were studied through measures of neighborhood quality and satisfaction, and preferences regarding the racial/ethnic mix of neighborhoods. Other topics included residence and housing, neighborhood characteristics, family income structure, networks and social functioning, and interviewer observations. Demographic information on respondents was also elicited, including length of residence, education, housing status, monthly rent or mortgage payment, marital status, gender, age, race, household composition, citizenship status, language spoken in the home, ability to read and speak English, political affiliation, and religion.

ORIGINATING AGENCY / PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S): Lawrence Bobo, James Johnson, Melvin Oliver, Reynolds Farley, Barry Bluestone, Irene Browne, Sheldon Danziger, Gary Green, Harry Holzer, Maria Krysan, Michael Massagli, Camille Zubrinsky Charles, Joleen Kirschenman, Philip Moss, and Chris Tilly.

RELATED WEB SITES:
Russell Sage Foundation (one of the funding agencies) "Projects of Special Interest" MCSUI Web Page

PRI FACULTY, AFFILIATES, AND STUDENTS: Please note that geographic codes and census variables are not available with this data. No exceptions.

Year(s) / Wave(s)	Abstract?	Data Location	Input Statement	Document Location
1992-94 Household and Employer Telephone Survey	Yes	POPNET:  /nfs/data/public/mcsui /da*.gz, sp*.export.gz	There is an SPSS export file for both and the following input statments: POPNET: /nfs/data/public/mcsui/ sa*.gz (SAS), sp*.gz (SPSS), and st*hs.gz (STATA household only)	POPNET:  /nfs/data/public/mcsui /cb*.pdf

DATA DISSEMINATED BY: ICPSR