Neighborhood Exposure Effects in Cognitive Skills and the Role of Primary Schools

This study examines how childhood residential location affects cognitive skills, focusing on the roles of neighborhood and primary school quality in shaping children’s school performance. Using administrative data from the Netherlands, I estimate the causal effect of neighborhood exposure—defined as the impact of time spent in a neighborhood—on children’s test scores at the end of their primary education. By comparing children who move at different ages, I separate the effects of exposure from those of sorting into neighborhoods. The results show that for each additional year a child spends in a neighborhood with higher expected test scores, their test scores improve by approximately 2.5% relative to the total gap between the lower- and higher-performing neighborhoods. As families can choose primary schools without geographical restrictions in the Netherlands, I can further isolate improvements attributable to school quality. Approximately 40% of the observed improvements in test scores can be explained by differences in primary school quality. These findings highlight the critical roles of neighborhood environments and school quality in reducing spatial educational inequalities.