Race, neighborhood poverty, and participation in voluntary associations

This paper examines racial differences in participation in voluntary associ ations. It extends past research by accounting for the influence of neighbo rhood poverty on participation. Using unique data from the 1993-94 Los Ange les Survey of Urban Inequality (LASUI), the analysis reveals that neighborh ood poverty influences the number of associations to which individuals belo ng, even when considering differences in personal and other residential cha racteristics. Moreover, once the negative influence of neighborhood poverty is taken into account, blacks participate in more voluntary associations t han do whites and other groups, while Asians participate the least. Evidenc e supports the ethnic community theory of blacks' greater participation, as blacks living in black communities participate in more organizations, part icularly in ones that are political, than blacks who do not.