Experimental Analysis of Neighborhood Effects

Families, primarily female-headed minority households with children, living in high-poverty public housing projects in five U.S. cities were offered housing vouchers by lottery in the Moving to Opportunity program. Four to seven years after random assignment, families offered vouchers lived in safer neighborhoods that had lower poverty rates than those of the control group not offered vouchers. We find no significant overall effects of this intervention on adult economic self-sufficiency or physical health. Mental health benefits of the voucher offers for adults and for female youth were substantial. Beneficial effects for female youth on education, risky behavior, and physical health were offset by adverse effects for male youth. For outcomes exhibiting significant treatment effects, we find, using variation in treatment intensity across voucher types and cities, that the relationship between neighborhood poverty rate and outcomes is approximately linear.

Beyond Treatment Effects: Estimating the Relationship Between Neighborhood Poverty and Individual Outcomes in the MTO Experiment

neighborhood effects, social experiments

Moving to Opportunity in Boston: Early Results of a Randomized Mobility Experiment

This paper examines the short-run impacts of a change in residential neighborhood on the well-being of low-income families, using evidence from the Moving To Opportunity (MTO) program in which eligibility for a housing voucher was determined by random lottery. Applicants in high poverty public housing projects were assigned by lottery to one of three groups: Experimental offered mobility counseling and a voucher valid only in a low-poverty Census tract; Section 8 Comparison offered a geographically unrestricted voucher; or Control offered no new assistance, but continued eligibility for public housing. Our quantitative analyses of program impacts at the Boston site of MTO uses data on 540 families approximately two years after program enrollment. 48 percent of the Experimental group and 62 percent of the Section 8 Comparison group moved through the MTO program. Households in both treatment groups experienced improvements in multiple measures of well-being relative to the Control group including increased safety, improved health among household heads, and fewer behavior problems among boys. There were no significant short-run impacts of either MTO treatment on employment, earnings, or welfare receipt. Experimental group children were less likely to be personally victimized by crime, to be injured, or to experience an asthma attack.

The International Roots of the 99% and The “Politics of Anyone”

Desde los primeros días de Occupy Wall Street, los principales medios norteamericanos presentaron al movimiento como un grupo marginal de manifestantes al que costaba trabajo encontrar un própósito; mientras, otros simpatizantes con Occupy se centraron en la forma en la que un grupo de organizadores estadounidenses captaron la atención del público. El presente artículo ofrece un discurso alternativo sobre los orígenes de Occupy Wall Street. Basado en la observación de los participantes y en el analisis documental, se defiende la tesis de que un grupo de participantes internacionales, con experiencia en movimientos sociales recientes en distintas partes del mundo, contribuyeron a conformar algunas de las ideas más persuasivas de Occupy. En concreto, cuenta la historia de cómo el contigente español de Occuppy ayudó a articular el icónico eslogan “Somos el 99%” que reflejaba el principio de inclusividad del movimiento 15M en España.Since the earliest days of Occupy Wall Street, the mainstream American media has presented the movement as a ragtag bunch of protestors struggling to find a purpose, while those sympathetic to Occupy have focused on the way a group of American organizers captured the public imagination. This article offers an alternative narrative of the origins of Occupy Wall Street. Based on participant observation and an analysis of documents, it argues that international participants with experience in recent social movements around the world contributed some of Occupy’s most persuasive ideas. It tells the story of how a Spanish contingent within Occupy helped to articulate the iconic “We are the 99%” slogan by translating a principle of inclusivity from the 15-M orindignado movement in Spain

Moving to Opportunity and Tranquility: Neighborhood Effects on Adult Economic Self-Sufficiency and Health From a Randomized Housing Voucher Experiment

neighborhood effects, housing vouchers

Youth Criminal Behavior in the Moving to Opportunity Experiment

neighborhood effects, social experiment

Determinants of Actual Usage of Computer among Mathematics, Science and English Language Teachers in Secondary Schools in Selangor, Malaysia

As we are heading towards achieving the goal of Vision 2020, numerous changes have been implemented in the system of education. Among them would be the paradigm shift from the traditional mode of teaching to one that is of the information technology based especially among the Mathematics, Science and English language (MSE) teachers. Numerous incentives were given to the MSE teachers to use the computer in schools but preliminary observations found that they are not fully utilizing these facilities. The aim of this study is to identify factors influencing the actual usage of computer (AUC) among secondary school MSE teachers. The factors investigated were attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, computer self-efficacy, job relevance, computer compatibility, subjective norm and teachers’ demography. A self-administered survey questionnaire was sent to MSE secondary school teachers in 65 schools in the district of Petaling, in Selangor. Out of the 358 questionnaires, a total of 318 (88.9%) valid responses were used. The data collected were analyzed using exploratory data analysis, statistical descriptive and inferential statistics (t-test, One-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression) using the SPSS. Overall, the study found that the AUC among MSE secondary school teachers were at the moderate level. Meanwhile, the socio-demographic factors of main subjects taught and training in computer usage showed significant differences in means of AUC. Besides, the constructs of attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, job relevance, and computer compatibility showed significant positive relationship with AUC. The study too identified the best-fit model using the step-wise multiple regression and the best model explained 54.5% of variance in AUC. The most significant predictors of AUC were perceived ease of use, followed by perceived usefulness, job relevance, computer compatibility, and attitude. It is recommended that for MSE teachers to enhance on their level of AUC would need a concrete effort from the policy makers, school administrators, and teachers themselves. Future research is recommended to encompass a wider scope of constructs pertaining to AUC that incorporate among others financial incentives and type of school

Neighborhood Effects on Crime for Female and Male Youth: Evidence from a Randomized Housing Voucher Experiment

The Moving to Opportunity (MTO) demonstration assigned housing vouchers via random lottery to public housing residents in five cities. We use the exogenous variation in residential locations generated by MTO to estimate neighborhood effects on youth crime and delinquency. The offer to relocate to lower-poverty areas reduces arrests among female youth for violent and property crimes, relative to a control group. For males the offer to relocate reduces arrests for violent crime, at least in the short run, but increases problem behaviors and property crime arrests. The gender difference in treatment effects seems to reflect differences in how male and female youths from disadvantaged backgrounds adapt and respond to similar new neighborhood environments.