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Measuring Segregation

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  • Frankel, David M.
  • Volij, Oscar

Abstract

We propose a set of axioms for the measurement of school-based segregation with any number of ethnic groups. These axioms are motivated by two criteria. The first is evenness: how much do ethnic groups’ distributions across schools differ? The second is representativeness: how different are schools’ ethnic distributions from one another? We prove that a unique ordering satisfies our axioms. It is represented by an index that was originally proposed by Henri Theil (1971). This “Mutual Information Index” is related to Theil’s better known Entropy Index, which violates two of our axioms.
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Suggested Citation

  • Frankel, David M. & Volij, Oscar, 2010. "Measuring Segregation," Staff General Research Papers Archive 32130, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:isu:genres:32130
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Oscar Volij & David Frankel, 2004. "Measuring Segregation," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 210, Econometric Society.
    2. Card, David & Rothstein, Jesse, 2007. "Racial segregation and the black-white test score gap," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(11-12), pages 2158-2184, December.
    3. Charles T. Clotfelter, 1978. "Alternative Measures of School Desegregation: A Methodological Note," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 54(3), pages 373-380.
    4. Eric A. Hanushek & John F. Kain & Steven G. Rivkin, 2009. "New Evidence about Brown v. Board of Education: The Complex Effects of School Racial Composition on Achievement," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(3), pages 349-383, July.
    5. James Sakoda, 1981. "A generalized index of dissimilarity," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 18(2), pages 245-250, May.
    6. Frankel, David M. & Volij, Oscar, 2008. "An Axiomatization of the Multigroup Atkinson Segregation Indices," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12902, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    7. Neus Herranz & Ricardo Mora & Javier Ruiz‐Castillo, 2005. "An algorithm to reduce the occupational space in gender segregation studies," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 25-37, January.
    8. Macpherson, David A & Hirsch, Barry T, 1995. "Wages and Gender Composition: Why Do Women's Jobs Pay Less?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(3), pages 426-471, July.
    9. Ricardo Mora & Javier Ruiz-Castillo, 2004. "Gender segregation by occupations in the public and the private sector.The case of Spain," Investigaciones Economicas, Fundación SEPI, vol. 28(3), pages 399-428, September.
    10. Ricardo Mora & Javier Ruiz-Castillo, 2003. "Additively Decomposable Segregation Indexes. The Case of Gender Segregation by Occupations and Human Capital Levels in Spain," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 1(2), pages 147-179, August.
    11. Victor R. Fuchs, 1975. "A Note on Sex Segregation in Professional Occupations," NBER Chapters, in: Explorations in Economic Research, Volume 2, number 1, pages 105-111, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    15. Barbara S. Zoloth, 1976. "Alternative Measures of School Segregation," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(3), pages 278-298.
    16. Hutchens, Robert, 2001. "Numerical measures of segregation: desirable properties and their implications," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 13-29, July.
    17. Foster, James E., 1983. "An axiomatic characterization of the Theil measure of income inequality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 105-121, October.
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    19. Bourguignon, Francois, 1979. "Decomposable Income Inequality Measures," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(4), pages 901-920, July.
    20. Charles T. Clotfelter, 1999. "Public School Segregation in Metropolitan Areas," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 75(4), pages 487-504.
    21. Gregory B. Lewis, 1996. "Gender Integration of Occupations in the Federal Civil Service: Extent and Effects on Male-Female Earnings," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 49(3), pages 472-483, April.
    22. Philipson Tomas, 1993. "Social Welfare and Measurement of Segregation," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 60(2), pages 322-334, August.
    23. Caroline Hoxby, 2000. "Peer Effects in the Classroom: Learning from Gender and Race Variation," NBER Working Papers 7867, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Federico Echenique & Roland G. Fryer, 2007. "A Measure of Segregation Based on Social Interactions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 441-485.
    25. David M. Cutler & Edward L. Glaeser, 1997. "Are Ghettos Good or Bad?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(3), pages 827-872.
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    27. Atkinson, Anthony B., 1970. "On the measurement of inequality," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 2(3), pages 244-263, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Federico Echenique & Roland G. Fryer Jr., 2005. "On the Measurement of Segregation," Labor and Demography 0503006, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Frankel, David M. & Volij, Oscar, 2008. "An Axiomatization of the Multigroup Atkinson Segregation Indices," Staff General Research Papers Archive 12902, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    3. Coral del Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2010. "Occupational segregation measures: A role for status," Working Papers 167, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    4. Pancs, Romans & Vriend, Nicolaas J., 2007. "Schelling's spatial proximity model of segregation revisited," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-2), pages 1-24, February.
    5. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Río, 2009. "Industrial segregation of female and male workers in Spain," Working Papers 0905, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Economía Aplicada.
    6. Oscar Volij & David Frankel, 2004. "Measuring Segregation," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 210, Econometric Society.
    7. Coral Río & Olga Alonso-Villar, 2010. "Gender Segregation in the Spanish Labor Market: An Alternative Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 98(2), pages 337-362, September.
    8. repec:cte:werepe:we077544 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. David Frankel & Oscar Volij, 2005. "Scale-Invariant Measures of Segregation," Economic theory and game theory 018, Oscar Volij.
    10. Victor Ginsburgh & Shlomo Weber, 2016. "Linguistic Diversity, Standardization, and Disenfranchisement: Measurement and Consequences," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/277407, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    11. Victor Ginsburgh & Shlomo Weber, 2013. "Linguistic diversity, standardization and disenfranchisement. Measurement and consequences," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/152436, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    12. Stepinski, Tomasz & Dmowska, Anna, 2019. "Imperfect melting pot – analysis of changes in diversity and segregation of US urban census tracts in the period of 1990-2010," SocArXiv uqj8x, Center for Open Science.
    13. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Río, 2009. "Geographic Concentration of Economic Activity: An aggregate index," Working Papers 0901, Universidade de Vigo, Departamento de Economía Aplicada.
    14. Olga Alonso-Villar & Coral del Río & Carlos Gradín, 2010. "The extent of occupational segregation in the US: Differences by race, ethnicity, and gender," Working Papers 180, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    15. David M. Frankel, 2004. "Was the Late 19th Century a Golden Age of Racial Integration?," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 167, Econometric Society.
    16. Chakravarty, Satya R. & Silber, Jacques, 2007. "A generalized index of employment segregation," Mathematical Social Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 185-195, March.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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