The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2016
Volume: 106
Issue: 4
Pages: 855-902

Authors (3)

Raj Chetty (not in RePEc) Nathaniel Hendren (not in RePEc) Lawrence F. Katz (Harvard University)

Score contribution per author:

2.681 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

The Moving to Opportunity (MTO) experiment offered randomly selected families housing vouchers to move from high-poverty housing projects to lower-poverty neighborhoods. We analyze MTO's impacts on children's long-term outcomes using tax data. We find that moving to a lower-poverty neighborhood when young (before age 13) increases college attendance and earnings and reduces single parenthood rates. Moving as an adolescent has slightly negative impacts, perhaps because of disruption effects. The decline in the gains from moving with the age when children move suggests that the duration of exposure to better environments during childhood is an important determinant of children’s long-term outcomes. (JEL I31, I38, J13, R23, R38)

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:106:y:2016:i:4:p:855-902
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25