The effect of school construction on test scores, school enrollment, and home prices

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Public Economics
Year: 2014
Volume: 120
Issue: C
Pages: 18-31

Authors (2)

Neilson, Christopher A. (not in RePEc) Zimmerman, Seth D. (Yale University)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

This paper provides new evidence on the effect of elementary and middle school construction projects on home prices, academic achievement, and school enrollment. Combining the staggered implementation of a comprehensive school construction project in a poor urban district with panel data on student test scores and neighborhoods of residence, we find that, by six years after building occupancy, school construction increases reading scores by 0.15 standard deviations relative to the year before building occupancy. We do not observe similar effects for math scores. School construction raised home prices in affected neighborhoods by roughly 10%, and led to increased public school enrollment.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:pubeco:v:120:y:2014:i:c:p:18-31
Journal Field
Public
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-29