Housing by chance: The academic impacts of lottery-based access to student accommodation

Negar Khaliliaraghi ()
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Negar Khaliliaraghi: IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy

No 2025:23, Working Paper Series from IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy

Abstract: The affordability and stability of housing are key determinants of economic wellbeing, but their effects on the academic success of university students remain underexplored. This paper investigates the causal effect of early access to affordable student housing on academic performance using a unique lottery-based allocation system in Sweden. The findings show that early access to student housing significantly improves students’ academic performance, with grades increasing by 28% of a standard deviation, and students being 33% more likely to rank in the top 5% of their class. The results suggest that housing stability allows students to focus more on their studies, reducing the need for employment and long commutes.

Keywords: Student Housing; Higher Education; Test Scores (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 I21 I23 R21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 88 pages
Date: 2025-12-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2025_023

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