DP2588 Location and Education in South African Cities Under and After Apartheid

Author(s):	Harris Selod, Yves Zenou
Publication Date:	October 2000
Keyword(s):	Apartheid, Education Externalities, South Africa, Urban Land Use, Urban Segregation
JEL(s):	I20, J70, R14
Programme Areas:	Public Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=2588

We model a South African city during Apartheid (in which both schooling and mobility are restricted on the basis of race) and after Apartheid (in which no restrictions are imposed). We first show that the inequality between blacks and whites decreases when Apartheid laws are removed. Indeed, blacks are better off because of human capital externalities due to the possibility of mixing with white students whereas whites are worse off due to negative human capital externalities and intensified land market competition. After Apartheid, we also show that reducing the commuting costs of black children always increases the utility of black families and may even increase that of whites.