This thesis contributes to the literature in urban economics on neighborhood effects by answering three questions : What is the importance of territory in unemployment-to-work transitions ? Are there neighborhood effects in France ? How to explainunemployment geography ? Answering to these questions requires an approach in several steps. Firstly, the importance of the territory is analyzed by a literature review that lists the different mechanisms by which the local context can affect individuals’ access to employment. We also propose a descriptive analysis of unemployment disparities between municipalities in France and especially in the Paris region. The strong contrasts, which are maintained even when one considers the composition of local job-seekers, show the relative importance of the territory. Then, the thesis proposes empirical analysis on individual data to demonstrate the existence of neighborhood effects in France. We show that the "quality" of the neighborhood and its characteristics determine individuals’ employment status. Individuals who live in deprived neighborhoods are less likely than others to find a job and when they find it, it is generally of lower quality. Among the observed neighborhoods effects, we seek to highlight the existence of territorial discrimination. We propose different but complementary methodologies to analyze the effect of the reputation of a neighborhood. We observe that it decreases the chances of finding employment. Finally, in order to explain unemployment geography, the thesis proposes some analysisformunicipalities in Paris region. The objective is to test different mechanisms discussed in the literature in urban economics (residential segregation, Spatial Mismatch, emphSkill Mismatch etc.) to see which are most relevant and which should be considered a priority. Identify the mechanisms involved is a necessary and an important step to guide public policies that want to improve the situation of deprived neighborhoods.
