The Long Run Political Consequences of Integration Through Busing

Abstract

In 1975, schools in Louisville, Kentucky began busing students. Students were bused in different years depending upon the first letter of their last name. This led to quasi-random variation in the number of years of busing and even whether individuals were bused at all for the initial cohorts. We use this variation to estimate the long-run political impacts of busing. We find that busing increased white Democratic registration by over 4.5 percentage points and reduced Republican registration by 5.5 percentage points 40 years later. We also find that bused white students are more likely to live in more racially heterogeneous communities.

About the presenter’s visit

Dr Ethan Kaplan will be visiting the School of Economics from 13-16 August 2019.  While here he will be using room 633 Colin Clark Building.  If you would like to meet with him or have lunch or dinner with him please contact Dr Haishan Yuan who will be his host while at The University of Queensland.  Dr Yuan can be contacted on h.yuan@uq.edu.au.