IBS Speaker Series: Stephen Billings

Join in person at IBS 155 or via Zoom, email ibs-contact@colorado.edu for the password.
*Light lunch served at 11:45 am.

Title: Fear in the Neighborhood: The Cost of Racial Prejudice

Abstract: Residential segregation in the United States is persistent, and even though policymakers tout the benefits of integration, social and economic headwinds limit its progress. These challenges to integration are often a result of fear of interacting with different racial groups. Using a nearest neighbor research design, we show that receipt of a new Black next-door neighbor, relative to receipt of a new White next-door neighbor, leads to an increase in 911 calls auto-dialed by home alarm systems. This effect exists irrespective of the race of the current resident. We even find evidence that current Black residents are less likely to apply for Concealed Handgun Permits when a new White neighbor moves in next door. However, we find no change in either crime related calls or reported crimes after the arrival of new Black neighbors. Taken together, these results suggest the presence of perceived but no actual threat to personal safety from new Black neighbors. More broadly, polices that promote integration may benefit from initially investing in actions that increase social interactions between different racial groups to counteract perceived threats to personal safety driven by racial stereotypes.

Bio: Steve joined the University of Colorado – Boulder in the summer of 2016 and currently is the faculty director of the MS in Real Estate program and research director for the CU Real Estate Center.  He received his PhD in Economics from the University of Colorado, a MS in urban planning from the University of North Carolina and a BS in economics from Georgetown University. He was previously at the University of North Carolina Charlotte where he was positioned in both economics and public policy and was the faculty director for the real estate center.

Beyond research, Steve has extensive teaching and consulting experience in conducting cost-benefit analysis as well as policy evaluation. He is currently a regular instructor for undergraduate and masters classes in real estate finance and economics and has taught doctoral and masters level classes that teach students how to conduct cost-benefit analysis as well as a variety of statistical and quantitative methods. Steve has conducted studies of the economic costs and benefits of the 16 North Carolina public higher education campuses on the state economy; assessed the need for affordable housing in a number of communities throughout Colorado; studied the impact of the legalization of marijuana on property markets; as well as conducted cost-benefit analysis of the creation of downtown business improvement districts for a number of local governments throughout the state of Colorado.