Abstract

This paper examines whether social desegregation at school may foster social cohesion and reduce social inequality in educational outcomes. We exploit an initiative launched by the French Ministry of Education to desegregate middle schools, and matched voluntary schools with similar schools which have not engaged into desegregation. In the more segregated schools, the program was successful at increasing the exposure of low-SES to high-SES students, and conversely. We find that school desegregation slightly improves academic performance of the high-SES and brings social and psychological benefits for both groups of students.

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