School access and city structure
I study how school admission policies affect where families live, and thus the shape of the city and welfare.
New version of my JMP!
The location choices of households with children connect housing, labor, and school markets. I study how school catchment areas affect location choices, welfare, and city structure. I estimate a quantitative spatial model of the three markets for Madrid, and use a decomposition of market access to show that the policy binds most in the center, where schools are densest. Compared with free choice, catchment areas shorten school trips by about 40% but lower parents’ welfare by about 7.5%, via lost schooling options. Parents suburbanize, and the city becomes more segregated and marginally more productive, with gains falling short of parents’ losses.