Income, school fees, and racial desegregation in post-Apartheid South Africa: Evidence from Cape Town public secondary schools

dc.contributor.authorStartz, Meredith
dc.date.accessioned2016-04-25T09:36:16Z
dc.date.available2016-04-25T09:36:16Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.date.updated2016-04-25T08:41:05Z
dc.description.abstractThis paper uses a regression discontinuity design to measure the impact of exemptions from school fees on the desegregation of formerly white and coloured schools in post-apartheid South Africa. Schools which were designated for whites under apartheid often charge high fees, equal to a substantial portion of average black and coloured households' income. Consequently, policy makers have worried that fees act as a mechanism for de facto racial segregation in schools, and have created income-tested fee exemption policies to counteract this effect. However, I find no evidence that eligibility for a fee exemption increases the probability that a black student will attend a formerly coloured or white school, or that a coloured student will attend a formerly white school. I also find no statistically significant relationship between income and school choice for black students, and a small, significant relationship for coloured students. The results of this analysis show that income and fees, contrary to conventional wisdom, may not be key factors in the choice between racially defined school categories. This finding calls into question the relevance of the current fee exemption policy, and suggests that we need to develop a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of race and inequality in South African schools.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationStartz, M. (2010). <i>Income, school fees, and racial desegregation in post-Apartheid South Africa: Evidence from Cape Town public secondary schools</i> University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Social Science Research(CSSR). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19171en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationStartz, Meredith <i>Income, school fees, and racial desegregation in post-Apartheid South Africa: Evidence from Cape Town public secondary schools.</i> University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Social Science Research(CSSR), 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19171en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationStartz, M. (2010). Income, school fees, and racial desegregation in post-Apartheid South Africa: Evidence from Cape Town public secondary schools.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Working Paper AU - Startz, Meredith AB - This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to measure the impact of exemptions from school fees on the desegregation of formerly white and coloured schools in post-apartheid South Africa. Schools which were designated for whites under apartheid often charge high fees, equal to a substantial portion of average black and coloured households' income. Consequently, policy makers have worried that fees act as a mechanism for de facto racial segregation in schools, and have created income-tested fee exemption policies to counteract this effect. However, I find no evidence that eligibility for a fee exemption increases the probability that a black student will attend a formerly coloured or white school, or that a coloured student will attend a formerly white school. I also find no statistically significant relationship between income and school choice for black students, and a small, significant relationship for coloured students. The results of this analysis show that income and fees, contrary to conventional wisdom, may not be key factors in the choice between racially defined school categories. This finding calls into question the relevance of the current fee exemption policy, and suggests that we need to develop a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of race and inequality in South African schools. DA - 2010 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2010 T1 - Income, school fees, and racial desegregation in post-Apartheid South Africa: Evidence from Cape Town public secondary schools TI - Income, school fees, and racial desegregation in post-Apartheid South Africa: Evidence from Cape Town public secondary schools UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19171 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/19171
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationStartz M. Income, school fees, and racial desegregation in post-Apartheid South Africa: Evidence from Cape Town public secondary schools. 2010 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/19171en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentCentre for Social Science Research(CSSR)en_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.titleIncome, school fees, and racial desegregation in post-Apartheid South Africa: Evidence from Cape Town public secondary schoolsen_ZA
dc.typeWorking Paperen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceResearch paperen_ZA
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