When Stayers Become Minority: Neighborhood Attainment Outcomes for People without Internal Migration Backgrounds of Taiwan

Over the past five decades, Taiwan has witnessed a substantial influx of rural residents into urban areas, resulting in not only population concentration and subsequent decentralization but also significant shifts in urban socioeconomic landscapes. This dynamic demographic transformation is closely linked to the exceptionally high housing prices of Taiwanese cities, which rank among the highest globally. These trends may contribute to two scenarios of residential inequality. First, they could deter internal migrants from accessing socioeconomically advantaged neighborhoods. Second, they could discourage established urban residents from relocating to such neighborhoods, leading to growing residential inequality between newcomers and urban natives, with the former often outpacing the latter in terms of residential attainment. To investigate the extent to which internal migrants and established urban residents reside in neighborhoods with different socioeconomic features, this study employs data from the restricted-use Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS) of 2022. Our findings reveal that established urban residents are more likely to inhabit socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods compared to internal migrants who have relocated over long distances. Moreover, these disadvantages are particularly pronounced for homeowners in urban and suburban areas, suggesting the challenges associated with relocating to more desirable neighborhoods. Nevertheless, residents' demographic characteristics, as well as objective and subjective socioeconomic features, play a relatively minor role in shaping neighborhood disparities. In conclusion, this study highlights the distinct pattern of residential attainment in Taiwan and sheds light on the underlying mechanisms of residential inequality. The results suggest that while factors such as population concentration and decentralization play a significant role, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics have a more limited impact on neighborhood advantages or disadvantages.