Local government structure and the quality of minority neighborhoods

One of the most long-standing and controversial issues surrounding local government structure in the United States is how ??reformed?? political institutions have impacted minority neighborhoods. A common belief is that reformism has harmed these neighborhoods, but there is no empirical evidence on this issue. Drawing upon capital asset pricing theory, this paper empirically investigates the effects of two reforms, the council-manager form of government and at-large councilor elections, on the quality of nonwhite neighborhoods. Quality is found to be higher in majority white places with at-large as opposed to district-based elections. Quality is not found to be affected by the form of government.