Working Paper: NBER ID: w6779
Authors: Charles T. Clotfelter
Abstract: This paper presents measures of segregation in public schools for metropolitan areas. It shows that, not only are metropolitan areas very segregated, most of that segregation is due to racial disparities between districts rather than segregative patterns within districts. Metropolitan areas in the South and West tend to have larger districts, and thus feature less fragmentation by school district. Segregation at the metropolitan level appears to vary systematically with size, racial mix, and region. Because larger metropolitan areas tend to have more jurisdictions and exhibit greater differences in racial composition among jurisdictions, measured segregation rises with size, as measured by school enrollment.
Keywords: segregation; public schools; racial composition; metropolitan areas
JEL Codes: I21; I28
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| elimination of de jure segregation in the late 1960s (J78) | reduction in measured segregation in the South (R23) |
| residential segregation (R23) | racial composition of public schools (J45) |
| disparities in racial composition between districts (R23) | racial segregation post-1970 (R23) |
| residential factors (R21) | segregation patterns (R23) |
| district policies (I28) | school enrollment patterns (I21) |