More Harm than Good?: Sorting Effects in a Compensatory Education Program

• Davezies, Laurent ^[1] ; Garrouste, Manon ^[2]
  1. [1] Center for Research in Economics and Statistics (CREST)
  2. [2] University of Lille
• Localización: Journal of human resources, ISSN 0022-166X, Vol. 55, Nº 1, 2020, págs. 240-277
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • By analyzing a French program that targeted low-achieving and socially disadvantaged junior high schools we provide evidence that school-based compensatory education policies create sorting effects. We use geocoded original data and a regression discontinuity framework to show that the program decreases the individual probability of attending a treated school and symmetrically increases the probability of attending a private school. The effects are driven by pupils from high socioeconomic backgrounds, resulting in an increase in social segregation across schools.