Collaborative Research: Understanding the Long-Run Effects of School Desegregation on Political and Social Preferences

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

Busing was one of the two main ways through which public schools were desegregated in the post-Civil Rights era. While the effects of busing on educational outcomes have been studied, not much is known about the long term effects of busing on political ideology and social interactions. This research project will use historical data combined with a large survey data to study the long-run effects of busing on political, ideology, and racial attitudes of those who actually experienced busing. This study uses data from the “Louisville Experiment” in which a lottery system was used to assign some white students to be bused to minority schools for two years while others were bused for one year with others not being bused at al. The researchers use this variation is busing assignment across different cohorts and between groups of students to study the effects of busing on political attitudes. This research results will provide a broader understanding of the effects of busing and its unintended effects generally. This research project combines archival data, a large survey data, and a difference-in-difference estimation strategy to estimate the causal impact of being bused on political preferences forty-five years later using a natural experiment from the mid-1970s in Louisville, KY. The “Louisville Experiment” assigned students to be bused at different ages based on the first letter of their last name. For the initial cohorts of whites, this resulted in some students being assigned to two years of busing while others received only one year or no busing. Using this variation across cohorts and between groups of students with different last names, the research project will estimate the long-run causal impact of busing on political preferences and attitudes. Specifically, the PIs use difference-in-difference methods to estimate the causal effects of busing on partisanship, voter turn-out, and political donations. The research will also investigate the effects of busing on racial attitudes and support for income support programs. The results of this research will provide a better understanding of the long-term broader impacts of integration programs. It could inform policies to improve racial integration and probably improve social harmony. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.