  Schelling and Sakoda prominently proposed computational models suggesting
that strong ethnic residential segregation can be the unintended outcome of a
self-reinforcing dynamic driven by choices of individuals with rather tolerant
ethnic preferences. There are only few attempts to apply this view to school
choice, another important arena in which ethnic segregation occurs. In the
current paper, we explore with an agent-based theoretical model similar to
those proposed for residential segregation, how ethnic tolerance among parents
can affect the level of school segregation. More specifically, we ask whether
and under which conditions school segregation could be reduced if more parents
hold tolerant ethnic preferences. We move beyond earlier models of school
segregation in three ways. First, we model individual school choices using a
random utility discrete choice approach. Second, we vary the pattern of ethnic
segregation in the residential context of school choices systematically,
comparing residential maps in which segregation is unrelated to parents' level
of tolerance to residential maps reflecting their ethnic preferences. Thirdly,
we introduce heterogeneity in tolerance levels among parents belonging to the
same group. Our simulation experiments suggest that ethnic school segregation
can be a very robust phenomenon, occurring even when about half of the
population prefers mixed to segregated schools. However, we also identify a
sweet spot in the parameter space in which a larger proportion of tolerant
parents makes the biggest difference. This is the case when the preference for
nearby schools weighs heavily in parents' utility function and the residential
map is only moderately segregated. Further experiments are presented that
unravel the underlying mechanisms.
