A Closer Look: Proximity Boosts Homeless Student Performance in New York City

Michael T. Cassidy ()
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Michael T. Cassidy: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

No 13558, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Proximity augments homeless students' educational outcomes. Homeless K-8 graders whose families are placed in shelters near their schools have 8 percent (2.4 days) better attendance, are a third (18 percentage points) less likely to change schools, and exhibit higher rates of proficiency and retention. Homeless high schoolers have 5 percent (2.5 days) better attendance, 29 percent (10 pp) lower mobility, and 8 percent (1.6 pp) greater retention when placed locally. These results proceed from novel administrative data on homeless families observed in the context of a scarcity-induced natural experiment in New York City. A complementary instrumental variable strategy exploiting homeless eligibility policy reveals a subset of proximity-elastic students benefit considerably more. Panel evidence demonstrates homelessness does not cause educational impairment as much as reflect large preexisting deficits.

Keywords: welfare policy; poverty alleviation; housing; families; neighborhoods; K-12; education; homelessness; program evaluation; causal inference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D91 H53 H75 I21 I28 I38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 156 pages
Date: 2020-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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