中文摘要
本文评述了《塑造我们的社区，塑造我们自身》一书，乔治·C. 加尔斯特在该书中综述了有关社区形成与社区效应的文献。在我看来，《塑造我们的社区》显然可以通过两种方式成为强化这些文献的参考著作。鉴于社区效应文献往往仍处于检验此类效应是否存在及其大小的阶段，作者为我们可能观察到的社区效应异质性类型所构建的分类框架，将成为研究者的宝贵工具。此外，由于社区形成文献从一系列彼此迥异的学科领域探讨相关问题，作者在运用均衡、信念形成、公平与效率以及未定价外部性等概念的同时，阐述个体行动者如何塑造社区动态，这应有助于形成对社区形成之经济学研究路径的统一认识。尽管作者当然并未回避种族问题，但我认为，如果将论述中的若干部分与种族隔离更直接地联系起来，其表述会更加清晰。（JEL D62、D83、I31、J15、R23、R31、Z13）
Abstract
This essay reviews Making Our Neighborhoods, Making Our Selves, in which George C. Galster provides an overview of the literatures on neighborhood formation and neighborhood effects. I see two clear ways that Making Our Neighborhoods will serve as a reference strengthening these literatures. Given the state of the literature on neighborhood effects, which is often still at the stage of testing the existence and magnitude of such effects, the author’s framework for classifying the types of heterogeneity we might observe in neighborhood effects will be a valuable tool for researchers. And since the literature on neighborhood formation approaches the issues from a disparate set of fields, the author’s presentation of individual actors shaping neighborhood dynamics while using ideas of equilibrium, belief formation, equity and efficiency, and unpriced externalities should help unify understanding of the economic approach to neighborhood formation. While the author certainly does not shy away from race, I argue that several parts of the presentation would be clearer if they were tied more directly to racial segregation. (JEL D62, D83, I31, J15, R23, R31, Z13)