Federal Oversight, Local Control, and the Specter of "Resegregation" in Southern Schools

Posted: 29 Feb 2008

See all articles by Charles T. Clotfelter

Charles T. Clotfelter

Duke University - Sanford School of Public Policy; Duke University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Jacob L. Vigdor

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Helen F. Ladd

Duke University - Sanford School of Public Policy

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2006

Abstract

Analyzing data for the 100 largest districts in the South and Border states, we ask whether there is evidence of "resegregation" of school districts and whether levels of segregation can be linked to judicial decisions. We distinguish segregation measures based on racial isolation from those based on racial imbalance. Only one measure of racial isolation suggests that districts in these regions experienced resegregation between 1994 and 2004, and changes in this measure appear to be driven largely by the rising nonwhite percentage in the student population rather than by district policies. Although we find no time trend in racial imbalance over this period, we find that variations in racial imbalance across districts are nonetheless associated with judicial declarations of unitary status, suggesting that segregation in schools might have declined had it not been for the actions of federal courts.

Suggested Citation

Clotfelter, Charles T. and Vigdor, Jacob L. and Ladd, Helen F., Federal Oversight, Local Control, and the Specter of "Resegregation" in Southern Schools ( 2006). American Law and Economics Review, Vol. 8, Issue 2, pp. 347-389, 2006, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1097897 or http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aler/ahl002

Charles T. Clotfelter (Contact Author)

Duke University - Sanford School of Public Policy ( email )

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Jacob L. Vigdor

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Helen F. Ladd

Duke University - Sanford School of Public Policy ( email )

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