A general model of community formation and human capital accumulation
with social spillovers and decentralized school funding is used to ana
lyse the causes of economic segregation and its consequences for equit
y and efficiency. Significant polarization arises from minor differenc
es in endowments, preferences or access to capital markets. This makes
income inequality more persistent across generations, but the same ne
ed not be true for wealth. Equilibrium stratification tends to be exce
ssive, resulting in low aggregate surplus. Whether state equalization
of school resources can remedy these problems hinges on how purchased,
social and family inputs interact in education and in mobility decisi
ons.