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Housing and child development

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Listed author(s):
  • Leventhal, Tama
  • Newman, Sandra
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    Abstract

    This article presents a critical review of recent research on the role of housing in children's development, including physical health; social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes; and schooling, achievement, and economic attainment. We focus on six features of housing that are central to housing policy and have generally received the most research attention: (1) physical housing quality; (2) crowding; (3) residential mobility; (4) homeownership; (5) subsidized housing; and (6) unaffordability. The strongest evidence is provided for the deleterious associations between environmental toxins/hazards and crowding with children's health, and for residential mobility with children's short-term academic, social and emotional problems. The findings on assisted housing are mixed, and homeownership and affordability are not linked to children's outcomes. More methodologically rigorous and conceptually focused research is needed. Despite fundamental knowledge gaps, the results have implications for housing policies focused on homeownership, subsidies and land use regulations.

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    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190-7409(10)00072-1
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    Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Children and Youth Services Review.

    Volume (Year): 32 (2010)
    Issue (Month): 9 (September)
    Pages: 1165-1174

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    Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:32:y:2010:i:9:p:1165-1174
    Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth

    Keywords: Housing Child development Family well-being Policy Low-income;

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    1. Currie, Janet & Yelowitz, Aaron, 2000. "Are public housing projects good for kids?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 99-124, January.
    2. Aaronson, Daniel, 2000. "A Note on the Benefits of Homeownership," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 356-369, May.
    3. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1, June.
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    7. Goux, Dominique & Maurin, Eric, 2005. "The effect of overcrowded housing on children's performance at school," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(5-6), pages 797-819, June.
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    9. Sandra J. Newman, 2008. "Does housing matter for poor families? A critical summary of research and issues still to be resolved," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(4), pages 895-925.
    10. Boehm, Thomas P. & Schlottmann, Alan M., 1999. "Does Home Ownership by Parents Have an Economic Impact on Their Children?," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 217-232, September.
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    12. Donald R. Haurin & Toby L. Parcel & R. Jean Haurin, 2002. "Does Homeownership Affect Child Outcomes?," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 30(4), pages 635-666.
    13. Suzanne Bianchi, 2000. "Maternal employment and time with children: Dramatic change or surprising continuity?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(4), pages 401-414, November.
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    16. Nan Astone & Sara McLanahan, 1994. "Family structure, residential mobility, and school dropout: A research note," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 31(4), pages 575-584, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kull, Melissa A. & Coley, Rebekah Levine, 2014. "Housing costs and child functioning: Processes through investments and financial strains," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 25-38.
    2. repec:eee:cysrev:v:77:y:2017:i:c:p:101-109 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Lewis, Melinda & Cramer, Reid & Elliott, William & Sprague, Aleta, 2014. "Policies to promote economic stability, asset building, and child development," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 15-21.
    4. Darlington Mushongera & Precious Zikhali & Phindile Ngwenya, 2017. "A Multidimensional Poverty Index for Gauteng Province, South Africa: Evidence from Quality of Life Survey Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 130(1), pages 277-303, January.
    5. Leonard M. Lopoo & Andrew S. London, 2016. "Household Crowding During Childhood and Long-Term Education Outcomes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(3), pages 699-721, June.
    6. Brian Jacob & Max Kapustin & Jens Ludwig, 2014. "Human Capital Effects of Anti-Poverty Programs: Evidence from a Randomized Housing Voucher Lottery," NBER Working Papers 20164, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Coulton, Claudia J. & Richter, Francisca & Kim, Seok-Joo & Fischer, Robert & Cho, Youngmin, 2016. "Temporal effects of distressed housing on early childhood risk factors and kindergarten readiness," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 59-72.

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