Working Paper: NBER ID: w15291
Authors: Scott Imberman; Adriana D. Kugler; Bruce Sacerdote
Abstract: In 2005, hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced many children to relocate across the Southeast. While schools quickly enrolled evacuees, receiving families worried about the impact of evacuees on non-evacuee students. Data from Houston and Louisiana show that, on average, the influx of evacuees moderately reduced elementary math test scores in Houston. We reject linear-in-means models of peer effects and find evidence of a highly non-linear but monotonic model - student achievement improves with high ability and worsens with low ability peers. Moreover, exposure to undisciplined evacuees increased native absenteeism and disciplinary problems, supporting a "bad apple" model in behavior.
Keywords: Hurricane Katrina; peer effects; displaced students; education; academic performance
JEL Codes: H23; I21; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| influx of evacuees (H84) | elementary math test scores (C12) |
| influx of evacuees (H84) | native absenteeism and disciplinary problems (J15) |
| presence of low-achieving evacuees (I24) | academic performance of high-achieving natives (D29) |
| disruptive students (Y40) | discipline and attendance of native students (I29) |
| peer quality (C92) | outcomes (P47) |
| higher-quality peers (C92) | all students (A00) |
| lower-quality peers (C92) | all students (A00) |