òòò½Íø Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
School Attendance Boundaries and the Segregation of Public Schools in the United States
òòò½Íø Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 15,
no. 3, July 2023
(pp. 210–37)
Abstract
School segregation is determined both by residential sorting and local policies, such as the drawing of attendance boundaries and school siting. This paper develops an approach to understanding the relative importance of these factors by calculating the distance-minimizing assignment of students to schools and assessing whether actual assignments differ systematically by race. Using census data and attendance boundary maps for nearly 1,600 school districts, I find that attendance boundaries create 5 percent more integration than a distance-minimizing baseline, while school siting plays almost no role. Residential segregation alone explains more than 100 percent of school segregation in the United States.Citation
Monarrez, Tomás E. 2023. "School Attendance Boundaries and the Segregation of Public Schools in the United States." òòò½Íø Journal: Applied Economics 15 (3): 210–37. DOI: 10.1257/app.20200498Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- R23 Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics