This special issue contains a selection of papers presented at the conference on "Neighbourhood Effects Studies on the Basis of European Micro-data" which took place in Berlin in spring 2007. It was the aim of this conference to bring together prominent European researchers on neighbourhood effects and to encourage further analysis of the existing European data by looking at research from different countries and different academic disciplines. The contributions deal with methodological issues and data problems, and each of them focuses on a particular research question dealing with the neighbourhood context. The papers presented illustrate both the current problems and the rich future potential of neighbourhood studies. Galster reflects on the diverse problems in identifying causal relationships that have been pointed out in previous research. Other papers acknowledge the same issues and grapple with their implications. The conference also revealed that throughout Europe exciting new datasets are becoming available with neighbourhood identifiers and characteristics. The papers cover a broad range of topics aside from neighbourhood effects, ranging from ethnic segregation, to child poverty and health-related issues. Articles for download: www.gbi.de or www.atypon-link.com

Autorentext
Hartmut Häußermann, geboren 1943, war Soziologe und einer der renommiertesten deutschen Stadtforscher. Er lehrte an der Universität Bremen und an der Berliner Humboldt-Universität. Häußermann ist am 31. Oktober 2011 verstorben.

Inhalt
Inhalt: G. G. Wagner / J. Wagner, Editorial - C. K. Spiess / S. Burgess / H. Häussermann, Introduction: "Neighbourhood Effects Studies on the Basis of European Micro-data" - G. C. Galster, Quantifying the Effect of Neighbourhood on Individuals: Challenges, Alternative Approaches, and Promising Directions - R. Andersson, Neighbourhood Effects and the Welfare State. Towards a European Research Agenda? - J. Friedrichs, Which Progress for Poverty Studies can we expect from new large Data Sources? - G. Knies / S. Burgess / C. Propper, Keeping up with the Schmidt's. An Empirical Test of Relative Deprivation Theory in the Neighbourhood Context - M. Stafford / A. Sacker / A. Ellaway / S. Cummins / D. Wiggins / S. Macintyre, Neighbourhood Effects on Health: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach - D. Biterman / B. Gustafsson / T. Österberg, Economic and Ethnic Polarisation among Children in Sweden's Three Metropolitan Areas - W. van der Laan Bouma-Doff, Concentrating on Participation: Ethnic Concentration and Labour Market Participation of Four Ethnic Groups - A. I. Drever, Germans in Germany's Ethnic Neighborhoods