ERIC Number: ED671908
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jul
Pages: 44
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Are Public Housing Projects Good for Kids after All? EdWorkingPaper No. 21-437
Jeehee Han; Amy Ellen Schwartz
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Is public housing bad for children? Critics charge that public housing projects concentrate poverty and create neighborhoods with limited opportunities, including low-quality schools. However, whether the net effect is positive or negative is theoretically ambiguous and likely to depend on the characteristics of the neighborhood and schools compared to origin neighborhoods. In this paper, we draw on detailed individual-level longitudinal data on students moving into New York City public housing and examine their academic outcomes over time. Exploiting plausibly random variation in the precise timing of entry into public housing, we estimate credibly causal effects of public housing using both difference-in-differences and event study designs. We find credibly causal evidence of positive effects of moving into public housing on student test scores, with larger effects over time. Stalled academic performance in the first year of entry may reflect, in part, disruptive effects of residential and school moves. Neighborhood matters: effects are larger for students moving out of low-income neighborhoods or into higher-income neighborhoods, and these students move to schools with higher average test scores and lower shares of economically disadvantaged peers. We also find some evidence of improved attendance outcomes and reduction in incidence of childhood obesity for boys following public housing residency. Our study results refute the popular belief that public housing is bad for kids and probe the circumstances under which public housing may work to improve academic outcomes for low-income students.
Descriptors: Public Housing, Quality of Life, Context Effect, Place of Residence, Neighborhoods, Outcomes of Education, Student Experience, Academic Achievement, Scores, Social Influences, Community Influence, Language Arts, Mathematics, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Data Analysis, Standardized Tests, State Standards
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Identifiers - Location: New York (New York)
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01HD070739; R01DK097347; R01DK108682
Author Affiliations: N/A