Frankel, David M.; Volij, Oscar

Journal of Economic Theory Vol. 146 no. 1 (2011): 1-38.

Using only ordinal axioms, we characterize several multi-group school segregation indices: the Atkinson Indices for the class of school districts with a given fixed number of ethnic groups and the Mutual Information Index for the class of all districts. Properties of other school segregation indices are also discussed. In an empirical application, we document a weakening of the effect of ethnicity on school assignment from 1987/8 to 2007/8. We also show that segregation between districts within cities currently accounts for 33% of total segregation. Segregation between states, driven mainly by the distinct residential patterns of Hispanics, contributes another 32%.

JEL Classification: C43, C81, D63

Keywords: Segregation, indices, schools, education, axiomatic method: measurement

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