An efficiency case for equity-based school priorities

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Clark, Damon; Coate, Stephen
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Irvine; Cornell University; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2025.105441
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: School choice; capacity constraints; School priorities; EFFICIENCY; equity

摘要

Many school districts operate school choice or open enrollment programs that give parents a choice of school. The popular schools in these districts are often oversubscribed, so districts must decide which applicants receive priority at these schools. Typically, districts give priority to students who live close to these schools or allocate by random lottery. However, to provide more equitable access to popular schools and to reduce school segregation, some districts prioritize students based on socio-economic status (e.g., favoring students from less-affluent neighborhoods). This paper shows that, despite their effects on transportation costs, these equity-based priorities can increase efficiency in the sense of raising aggregate welfare. They do this by facilitating better matches of students to schools.