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Moving to Opportunity or Isolation? Network Effects of a Randomized Housing Lottery in Urban India

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Listed:
  • Barnhardt, Sharon

    (Indian Institute of Management)

  • Field, Erica

    (Duke University)

  • Pande, Rohini

    (Harvard University)

Abstract

A housing lottery in an Indian city provided winning slum dwellers the opportunity to move into improved housing on the city's periphery. Fourteen years later, relative to lottery losers, winners report improved housing farther from the city center, but no change in family income or human capital. Winners also report increased isolation from family and caste networks and lower access to informal insurance. We observe significant program exit: 34% of winners never moved into the subsidized housing and 32% eventually exited. Our results point to the importance of considering social networks when designing housing programs for the poor.

Suggested Citation

  • Barnhardt, Sharon & Field, Erica & Pande, Rohini, 2015. "Moving to Opportunity or Isolation? Network Effects of a Randomized Housing Lottery in Urban India," Working Paper Series rwp15-043, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp15-043
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • H42 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Private Goods
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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