Robert W Fairlie University of California,
Santa Cruz and Joint Center for Poverty Research,
Northwestern University and University of Chicago
School vouchers are gaining popularity as a way of improving education
among minorities. These policies may have important ramifications for racial,
language, and socioeconomic segregation in our nation's schools. Using
1990 Census microdata, we document and explore the underlying causes of
ethnic, racial and immigrant differences in private school attendance.
We find high rates of private school attendance among white natives, white
immigrants, and Asian natives. In contrast, we find low private school
rates among black natives, black immigrants, Hispanic natives, Hispanic
immigrants, Asian immigrants, and other natives. Variations in income per
capita and especially parental education can account for over 70% of the
gap in private school attendance rates between white natives and all other
students, for both primary and secondary school. Policy implications are
discussed.