From Brown to Busing

55 Pages Posted: 23 Jul 2007 Last revised: 15 Oct 2022

See all articles by Elizabeth Cascio

Elizabeth Cascio

Department of Economics, Dartmouth College; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Nora Gordon

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Ethan G. Lewis

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics

Sarah Reber

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Policy Studies

Date Written: July 2007

Abstract

An extensive literature debates the causes and consequences of the desegregation of American schools in the twentieth century. Despite the social importance of desegregation and the magnitude of the literature, we have lacked a comprehensive accounting of the basic facts of school desegregation. This paper uses newly assembled data to document when and how Southern school districts desegregated as well as the extent of court involvement in the desegregation process over the two full decades after Brown. We also examine heterogeneity in the path to desegregation by district characteristics. The results suggest that the existing quantitative literature, which generally either begins in 1968 and focuses on the role of federal courts in larger urban districts or relies on highly aggregated data, often tells an incomplete story of desegregation.

Suggested Citation

Cascio, Elizabeth and Gordon, Nora Elizabeth and Lewis, Ethan G. and Reber, Sarah Johanna, From Brown to Busing (July 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w13279, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1002058

Elizabeth Cascio (Contact Author)

Department of Economics, Dartmouth College ( email )

Hanover, NH 03755
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Nora Elizabeth Gordon

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Ethan G. Lewis

Dartmouth College - Department of Economics ( email )

Hanover, NH 03755
United States

Sarah Johanna Reber

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Department of Policy Studies ( email )

Los Angeles, CA
United States

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