Infrastructures of Race? Colonial Indigenous Segregation and Contemporary Land Values

54 Pages Posted: 15 Jun 2022 Last revised: 6 Apr 2023

See all articles by Luis Baldomero Quintana

Luis Baldomero Quintana

College of William and Mary

L. Guillermo Woo-Mora

Paris School of Economics (PSE); Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)

Enrique De la Rosa-Ramos

King’s College London

Date Written: April 6, 2023

Abstract

We investigate the persistent impact of a colonial segregation policy on land values in modern Mexico City. During colonial times, Indigenous communities were confined-with varying degrees of success-to settlements known as pueblos de indios. Using historical records, we exploit quasi-random variation due to the pueblos' catchment areas and use a Regression Discontinuity Design to estimate the causal effects of pueblos on land prices. We find a 5% land value penalty for areas affected by the colonial policy. The penalty is exacerbated for the pueblos formerly inhabited exclusively by Indigenous populations. Historical evidence and novel digitized maps reveal that these land value penalties have been driven over the past two centuries by low public goods provision, negative economic expectations, and the historical sorting of working-class individuals who built housing structures with small living spaces, or second-nature factors. Moreover, in contemporary data, we observe discontinuities in housing overcrowding and public goods quality within the pueblos' catchment areas. Our results underscore the repercussions of colonial policies on contemporary spatial equilibria, clarifying the mechanisms driving historical persistence and offering implications for urban policies.

Keywords: N96, O18, J71, N36 urban segregation, sorting, spatial persistence, cities and development

JEL Classification: N96, O18, J71, N36

Suggested Citation

Baldomero Quintana, Luis and Woo-Mora, L. Guillermo and De la Rosa-Ramos, Enrique, Infrastructures of Race? Colonial Indigenous Segregation and Contemporary Land Values (April 6, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4125065 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4125065

Luis Baldomero Quintana (Contact Author)

College of William and Mary ( email )

P.O. Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23185
United States

HOME PAGE: http://www.luisbq.com

L. Guillermo Woo-Mora

Paris School of Economics (PSE) ( email )

48 Boulevard Jourdan
Paris, 75014
France

Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) ( email )

54, boulevard Raspail
Paris, 75006
France

Enrique De la Rosa-Ramos

King’s College London ( email )

Strand
England WC2R 2LS

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