Does residential segregation affect the generosity of welfare policies ?: Evidence from US states

Does residential segregation affect the generosity of welfare policies ?: Evidence from US states | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Does residential segregation affect the generosity of welfare policies ?: Evidence from US states Avik Sanyal This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8744311/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines how residential segregation shapes the racial politics of welfare generosity in the United States. Despite rising racial diversity, residential segregation remains a persistent structural feature that influences intergroup contact, racial attitudes, and public policy. I introduce a novel state-level measure of interracial exposure between white and African American populations and analyze how variation in exposure is associated with differences in state welfare generosity. Welfare generosity is measured using cash benefit limits under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program and Medicaid spending on mental health services. The results indicate that, in most states, lower levels of segregation and greater interracial exposure are associated with more generous welfare policies, consistent with mechanisms of increased empathy toward economically disadvantaged African Americans. However, in states with relatively large African American populations—particularly in the Deep South—greater exposure is associated with less generous welfare policies, consistent with group-threat dynamics. These findings highlight how the spatial organization of race continues to shape welfare policy outcomes, underscoring the role of residential segregation in sustaining racialized policy attitudes and unequal social provision. racial segregation welfare generosity TANF mental health medicaid health clinic Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8744311","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":587654202,"identity":"a92a8663-50fa-4145-95c7-fe4f2c24eb18","order_by":0,"name":"Avik Sanyal","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAuklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYNCCAhs5CIONaC0GacYkazmc2EC0Fvn2s8ckfhikpW+X7jFg+FB2mAjzz+SlSfYY2OTunHPGgHHGOWK0MOSYSfAYpOVuuJG7gZm3jQgt8v1vzCT/GBxONwBp+UuMFoYbOWbSPAaHE8BaGInRYnDjjbG1jEGa4c4Z+R8O9pxLJ8ZhOYY331TYyJtLpCU++FFmTYTDGBhYJMDWAfEBotQDAfMHmJZRMApGwSgYBVgBANbUOnLm69ohAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Purdue University Northwest","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Avik","middleName":"","lastName":"Sanyal","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-01-30 18:55:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8744311/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8744311/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106599179,"identity":"161a03bb-0950-4943-a957-46c6c87ad5db","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-10 09:58:18","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":720460,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ManuscriptJournalofEconomicsRaceandPolicy.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8744311/v1_covered_6ebc9e36-242f-4acc-ba26-8ebb3d62f3f2.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Does residential segregation affect the generosity of welfare policies ?: Evidence from US states","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"racial segregation, welfare, generosity, TANF, mental health, medicaid, health clinic","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8744311/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8744311/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines how residential segregation shapes the racial politics of welfare generosity in the United States. Despite rising racial diversity, residential segregation remains a persistent structural feature that influences intergroup contact, racial attitudes, and public policy. I introduce a novel state-level measure of interracial exposure between white and African American populations and analyze how variation in exposure is associated with differences in state welfare generosity. Welfare generosity is measured using cash benefit limits under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program and Medicaid spending on mental health services. The results indicate that, in most states, lower levels of segregation and greater interracial exposure are associated with more generous welfare policies, consistent with mechanisms of increased empathy toward economically disadvantaged African Americans. However, in states with relatively large African American populations\u0026mdash;particularly in the Deep South\u0026mdash;greater exposure is associated with less generous welfare policies, consistent with group-threat dynamics. These findings highlight how the spatial organization of race continues to shape welfare policy outcomes, underscoring the role of residential segregation in sustaining racialized policy attitudes and unequal social provision.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Does residential segregation affect the generosity of welfare policies ?: Evidence from US states","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-09 19:10:33","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8744311/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"dfde8b0c-1f0c-4b02-9331-4508622373ec","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 9th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-10T09:57:41+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-09 19:10:33","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8744311","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8744311","identity":"rs-8744311","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}