The end of busing of primary and secondary school students has been a major setback for integration of public schools in the
USA. The purpose of this paper is not to offer an alternative to busing; regrettably, no obvious alternative stands out. Rather,
it is to offer some social, legal and economic background to help the reader consider, and perhaps propose, realistic alternatives
that would reduce both racial and economic segregation in our schools and society. The paper is divided into three sections.
The first offers background information useful for better understanding and evaluating the end of busing and school resegregation.
The second section focuses on an important parallel between racial and economic discrimination. The closing section introduces
considerations important for anticipating reactions to, and the costs and benefits of, alternatives to busing for reintegrating
schools, as well as several recommendations to which those considerations can be applied.
Keywords US schools - Desegregation - Busing
*Explorations in Social Economics is a regular feature in the Forum in which a prominent social economist discusses a current policy issue through the lens of his or her particular approach
to social economics. The essays are commissioned by the Associate Editor in consultation with the editor and are reviewed
by the editorial staff before publication. There is a designated discussion forum at the Association for Social Economics
website (http://www.socialeconomics.org) specifically to encourage dialogue on the topics covered in “Explorations in Social Economics.”