Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/224000 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13558
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
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.
Subjects: 
homelessness
education
K-12
neighborhoods
families
housing
poverty alleviation
welfare policy
program evaluation
causal inference
JEL: 
I21
I28
I38
H53
H75
D91
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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