New Affordable Housing and School Quality Measures in Florida

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Abstract/Contents

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of introducing new affordable housing on the school quality, as defined by standardized test scores, of nearby schools. The results serve to allay the concerns of opponents of affordable housing who may fear the quality of their schools would deteriorate, as well as inform policy makers considering where to place new affordable housing. I utilize data on affordable housing and schools from the state of Florida. I use an event-study model to compare the standardized test scores of schools before and after the introduction of affordable housing nearby. Nearby “untreated” neighbors who do not receive new affordable housing serve as the matched control. I find no statistically significant general impact from the introduction of affordable housing, with a slightly negative general impact on test scores as the size of the new affordable housing increases. However, I find that the effect is dependent on socioeconomic status as measured by Free and Reduced Lunch Program eligibility. I show that standardized test scores increase in middle schools with low rates of Free and Reduced Price Lunch eligibility after the introduction of new affordable housing. While further study is needed, policymakers should take note that introducing new affordable housing near schools of a higher socioeconomic status causes the average achievement of the entire school to increase.

Type of resource	text
Date created	May 2016

Author	Johansson, Mattias
Primary advisor	Hanushek, Eric
Degree granting institution	Stanford University, Department of Economics

Subject	Stanford Department of Economics
Subject	affordable housing
Subject	school quality
Subject	Florida
Subject	event-study model
Subject	standardized test scores
Subject	Free and Reduced Lunch Program
Genre	Thesis

Location	https://purl.stanford.edu/zn013xb5979

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Preferred Citation: Johansson, Mattias. (2016). New Affordable Housing and School Quality Measures in Florida. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: https://purl.stanford.edu/zn013xb5979

Stanford University, Department of Economics, Honors Theses

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