Working Paper: NBER ID: w17369
Authors: Brian A. Jacob; Jens Ludwig; Douglas L. Miller
Abstract: In this paper we estimate the causal effects on child mortality from moving into less distressed neighborhood environments. We match mortality data to information on every child in public housing that applied for a housing voucher in Chicago in 1997 (N=11,848). Families were randomly assigned to the voucher wait list, and only some families were offered vouchers. The odds ratio for the effects of being offered a housing voucher on overall mortality rates is equal to 1.11 for all children (95% CI 0.54 to 2.10), 1.50 for boys (95% CI 0.72 to 2.89) and 0.00 for girls - that is, the voucher offer is perfectly protective for mortality for girls (95% CI 0 to 0.79). Our paper also addresses a methodological issue that may arise in studies of low-probability outcomes - perfect prediction by key explanatory variables.
Keywords: housing vouchers; child mortality; neighborhood effects; public housing; randomized experiment
JEL Codes: H75; I12; R38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| changes in housing and neighborhood conditions (R28) | health outcomes for children (I14) |
| being offered a housing voucher (R21) | overall mortality rates (I12) |
| being offered a housing voucher (R21) | overall mortality rates for boys (I12) |
| being offered a housing voucher (R21) | overall mortality rates for girls (I12) |