Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP2924
Authors: Mark Gradstein; Moshe Justman
Abstract: This Paper proposes a theoretical framework that combines the role of education as a cultural melting pot with its function as an instrument of human capital accumulation. It highlights the important role of public education in promoting social cohesion: requiring minority parents to pay twice for culturally distinct private education is a powerful incentive for cultural assimilation through public education. Conversely, subsidizing private schooling through vouchers or tax credits increases social polarization, which may partly explain the strong opposition to voucher experiments. Public education is especially effective in promoting the cultural assimilation of poorer immigrants, but may not be effective in dealing with large numbers of high-income immigrants.
Keywords: cultural assimilation; education; vouchers; public education
JEL Codes: D72; I21; I22; O15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Public education (H52) | Cultural assimilation (Z19) |
| Public education (H52) | Social cohesion (Z13) |
| Cultural assimilation (Z19) | Social cohesion (Z13) |
| Economic incentives for minority parents (J15) | Enrollment in public schools (I21) |
| Enrollment in public schools (I21) | Cultural assimilation (Z19) |
| Subsidizing private education (H52) | Increased social polarization (F69) |
| Public education without tax reductions (H49) | Social integration (Z13) |
| Vouchers (I22) | Undermining public education effects (H52) |
| Ethnic heterogeneity (J15) | Service quality (L15) |
| Ethnic heterogeneity (J15) | Corruption (D73) |
| Ethnic heterogeneity (J15) | Inefficient policies (H21) |
| Public education (H52) | Cultural proximity (Z10) |