TY  - JOUR
AU  - Graham,Bryan S.
AU  - Imbens,Guido W.
AU  - Ridder,Geert
TI  - Measuring the Effects of Segregation in the Presence of Social Spillovers: A Nonparametric Approach
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 16499
PY  - 2010
Y2  - October 2010
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16499
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w16499.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Bryan S. Graham
University of California - Berkeley
508-1 Evans Hall #3880
Berkeley, CA 94720-3880
Tel: (510) 642 4752
E-Mail: bgraham@econ.berkeley.edu

Guido Imbens
Graduate School of Business
Stanford University
655 Knight Way
Stanford, CA 94305
Tel: 617/384-7485
Fax: 617/495-7730
E-Mail: Imbens@stanford.edu

Geert Ridder
Department of Economics
University  of Southern California
Kaprielian Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90089
Tel: 213/740-3511
Fax: 213/740-8543
E-Mail: ridder@usc.edu
AB  - In this paper we nonparametrically analyze the effects of reallocating individuals across social groups in the presence of social spillovers. Individuals are either 'high' or 'low' types. Own outcomes may vary with the fraction of high types in one's social group. We characterize the average outcome and inequality effects of small increases in segregation by type. We also provide a measure of average spillover strength. We generalize the setup used by Benabou (1996) and others to study sorting in the presence of social spillovers by incorporating unobserved individual- and group-level heterogeneity. We relate our reallocation estimands to this theory. For each estimand we provide conditions for nonparametric identification, propose estimators, and characterize their large sample properties. We also consider the social planner's problem. We illustrate our approach by studying the effects of sex segregation in classrooms on mathematics achievement.
ER  -