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Isolation index

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Isolation index measures the degree to which people inhabit geographic units inhabited primarily by members of their own group. It is usually denoted by I. It varies from 0 to 1.0 and is defined as the proportion of own-group members in the unit of the average person. In measuring black isolation, for example, a score of 1.0 means that the average black person lives in a neighborhood that is 100 percent black, and a score approaching 0 means that this person lives in a neighborhood where he or she is nearly the only black resident. They have been used in studies of racial segregation and ideological segregation. Isolation index is not invariant to relative size of group.

Examples of isolation indices include Lieberson's isolation index and Bell's isolation index.

Formula

The formula to compute the isolation index is given by:

I = ∑ i = 1 n [ ( a i A ) ( a i a i + b i ) ] {\displaystyle I=\sum _{i=1}^{n}}

where a i {\displaystyle a_{i}} is the population of group A {\displaystyle A} in region i {\displaystyle i} , b i {\displaystyle b_{i}} is the population of group B {\displaystyle B} in region i {\displaystyle i} , A {\displaystyle A} is the total population of group A {\displaystyle A} .

Numerical Example

Consider the following distribution of white and black population across neighborhoods.

Neighborhood White Black I i {\displaystyle I_{i}}
A 100 5 0.01
B 100 10 0.036
C 100 10 0.036
Total 300 25 0.082

References

  1. Massey, Douglas S.; Denton, Nancy A. (December 1988). "The Dimensions of Residential Segregation". Social Forces. 67 (2): 281. doi:10.2307/2579183. ISSN 0037-7732. JSTOR 2579183.
  2. "SexRacial Residential Segregation Measurement Project". Population Studies Center, University of Michigan. Archived from the original on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
  3. Chadwick Matlin; Jeremy Singer-Vine; Chris Wilson (April 29, 2010). "Escape From the Echo Chamber". Slate magazine.
  4. Matthew Gentzkow; Jesse M. Shapiro (3 November 2011). "Ideological Segregation Online and Offline". Quarterly Journal of Economics.
  5. Robinson, V. (1980). "Lieberson's Isolation Index; A Case Study Evaluation". Area. 12 (4): 307–312. JSTOR 20001630.

See also


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