Structural conditions of preferences for segregation - An application of Coleman's 'linear system of action'

Why might rational actors be interested in establishing a system of segrega tion, and under what structural conditions will this be more or less likely ? To answer these questions, Coleman's 'linear system of action' serves as a starting point. It can be shown that, given a random assignment of intere st and control, a considerable number of actors may gain by splitting the g roup according to a binary ascriptive characteristic. Furthermore, it is no t unlikely that they will indeed come to a respective agreement because asc riptive characteristics serve as focal points in collective decision-making . With the help of computer simulations, how the likelihood of group separa tion is affected by several structural parameters can be analyzed. It is ev ident that increasing the number of goods exchanged within a given system i s a good recipe for preventing segregation.