School Desegregation and Urban Change: Evidence from City Boundaries

Leah Boustan

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2012, vol. 4, issue 1, 85-108

Abstract: I examine changes in the city-suburban housing price gap in metropolitan areas with and without court-ordered desegregation plans over the 1970s, narrowing my comparison to housing units on opposite sides of district boundaries. Desegregation of public schools in central cities reduced the demand for urban residence, leading urban housing prices and rents to decline by 6 percent relative to neighboring suburbs. Aversion to integration was due both to changes in peer composition and to student reassignment to nonneighborhood schools. The associated reduction in the urban tax base imposed a fiscal externality on remaining urban residents. (JEL H75, I21, I28, J15, R23, R31)

JEL-codes: H75 I21 I28 J15 R23 R31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
Note: DOI: 10.1257/app.4.1.85
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (28)

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Working Paper: School Desegregation and Urban Change: Evidence from City Boundaries (2010)
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