Location, Housing and Employment Opportunities - Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial with Vulnerable Youth in France

Vera Chiodi (), Bruno Crépon () and Guillermo Cruces ()
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Vera Chiodi: Sorbonne University Paris
Bruno Crépon: CREST-ENSAE
Guillermo Cruces: Universidad de San Andrés, CONICET, and University of Nottingham

No 180, Working Papers from Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia

Abstract: Housing conditions, residential location, and employment are key determinants of individual welfare, particularly for vulnerable populations facing credit constraints and information frictions. We examine how housing assistance affects employment outcomes using a randomized controlled trial in France that provided vulnerable youth (aged 18–25) with both job search assistance and housing support, including rent guarantees. The program successfully improved housing conditions: beneficiaries experienced better accommodation stability, reduced precarious situations, and increased satisfaction with their housing. However, despite substantial social worker support, the program did not improve employment rates, contract types, or earnings. Strikingly, beneficiaries moved to neighborhoods with objectively worse employment opportunities and lower socioeconomic indicators, yet reported higher satisfaction with their residential areas. This apparent paradox reveals that beneficiaries appear to prioritize housing affordability and conditions over employment access. Our results suggest that successful interventions may need to explicitly balance housing improvements with maintaining access to employment opportunities.

JEL-codes: J60 J8 O18 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2026-02, Revised 2026-02
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https://repec.udesa.edu.ar/pub/econ/doc180.pdf First version, February 2026 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sad:wpaper:180

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