How are school-choice policies related to social diversity in schools?

Abstract

In almost all school systems, students are assigned to public schools based, at least partly, on their home address. Through this policy, students are typically assigned to the school closest to their home. The main objective may be to avoid long and costly commutes to and from school. However, over the past few decades, many countries have implemented reforms that provide more school options to families by loosening the link between home address and school. How do these reforms affect the social composition of schools?