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Tracking Can Be More Equitable Than Mixing
Author(s) -
HidalgoHidalgo Marisa
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the scandinavian journal of economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.725
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1467-9442
pISSN - 0347-0520
DOI - 10.1111/sjoe.12074
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , tracking (education) , attendance , opportunity cost , wonder , economics , equal opportunity , public economics , microeconomics , demographic economics , actuarial science , labour economics , economic growth , sociology , psychology , social psychology , pedagogy
Parents and policy‐makers often wonder whether and how the choice of a tracked or mixed educational system affects the equality of opportunity. I answer this question by analyzing the influence of peers on future educational results. I define an equal opportunity policy as one that maximizes the average lifetime income of the worst‐off type of individuals in society (i.e., students from disadvantaged backgrounds). I find that tracking maximizes average lifetime income if the opportunity cost of college attendance is sufficiently high.