Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP3818
Authors: Dominique Goux; Eric Maurin
Abstract: In France, almost one in five 15 year olds lives in a home with at least two children per bedroom. More than 60% of these adolescents have been held back in primary or middle school, a proportion that is more than 20 points higher than it is on average for adolescents of the same age. This Paper develops a semi-parametric analysis that suggests a relation of cause and effect between living in an overcrowded home and falling behind at school. According to our estimations, the disparity in living conditions is a very important channel through which parents? lack of financial resources affects their children?s schooling.
Keywords: overcrowded housing; school performance
JEL Codes: I21; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Parental poverty (I32) | Overcrowded housing (R21) |
| Overcrowded housing (R21) | Academic performance (D29) |
| Overcrowded housing (R21) | Academic failure (I21) |
| Overcrowding (J11) | Educational attainment (I21) |