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The Effect of School Construction on Test Scores, School Enrollment, and Home Prices

Author

Listed:
  • Neilson, Christopher

    () (Yale University)

  • Zimmerman, Seth D.

    () (Princeton University)

Abstract

This paper provides new evidence on the effect of school construction projects on home prices, academic achievement, and public school enrollment. Taking advantage of the staggered implementation of a comprehensive school construction project in a poor urban district, we find that, by six years after building occupancy, $10,000 of per-student investment in school construction raised reading scores for elementary and middle school students by 0.027 standard deviations. For a student receiving the average treatment intensity this corresponds to a 0.21 standard deviation increase. School construction also raised home prices and public school enrollment in zoned neighborhoods.

Suggested Citation

  • Neilson, Christopher & Zimmerman, Seth D., 2011. "The Effect of School Construction on Test Scores, School Enrollment, and Home Prices," IZA Discussion Papers 6106, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6106
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    Cited by:

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    3. Joseph Marchand & Jeremy G. Weber, 2020. "How Local Economic Conditions Affect School Finances, Teacher Quality, and Student Achievement: Evidence from the Texas Shale Boom," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(1), pages 36-63, January.
    4. Belmonte, Alessandro & Bove, Vincenzo & D’Inverno, Giovanna & Modica, Marco, 2020. "School infrastructure spending and educational outcomes: Evidence from the 2012 earthquake in Northern Italy," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    5. Ava Gail Cas, 2016. "Typhoon Aid and Development: The Effects of Typhoon-Resistant Schools and Instructional Resources on Educational Attainment in the Philippines," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 33(1), pages 183-201, March.
    6. Sajad Vahedi, 2020. "Long Term Impact of Childhood Exposure to Pollution on Children’s Test Scores," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(4), pages 729-748, December.
    7. Brasington, David M., 2018. "Passing school building tax levies may increase teacher salary," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 87-89.
    8. Chan, Jimmy & Fang, Xian & Wang, Zhi & Zai, Xianhua & Zhang, Qinghua, 2020. "Valuing primary schools in urban China," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    9. Thompson, Paul N., 2021. "Is four less than five? Effects of four-day school weeks on student achievement in Oregon," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    10. Alessandro Belmonte & Vincenzo Bove & Giovanna D’Inverno & Marco Modica, 2017. "School Infrastructure Spending and Educational Outcomes in Northern Italy," SPRU Working Paper Series 2017-20, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    11. Lawani, Abdelaziz & Reed, Michael R. & Mark, Tyler & Zheng, Yuqing, 2019. "Reviews and price on online platforms: Evidence from sentiment analysis of Airbnb reviews in Boston," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 22-34.
    12. Dave Thomson, 2016. "The Short Run Impact of the Building Schools for the Future Programme on Attainment at Key Stage 4," DoQSS Working Papers 16-07, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    13. Asma Benhenda, 2020. "The impact of school facility expenditures on pupil attainment," CEPEO Briefing Note Series 10, Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, UCL Institute of Education, revised Nov 2020.
    14. Martorell, Paco & Stange, Kevin & McFarlin, Isaac, 2016. "Investing in schools: capital spending, facility conditions, and student achievement," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 13-29.
    15. Hong, Kai & Zimmer, Ron, 2016. "Does Investing in School Capital Infrastructure Improve Student Achievement?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 143-158.
    16. Paco Martorel & Kevin Stange & Isaac McFarlin Jr., 2016. "Investing in Schools: Capital Spending, Facility Conditions, and Student Achievement (Revised and Edited)," Upjohn Working Papers and Journal Articles 16-256, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    17. Conlin, Michael & Thompson, Paul N., 2017. "Impacts of new school facility construction: An analysis of a state-financed capital subsidy program in Ohio," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 13-28.
    18. Mikal Davis & Nick Ingwersen & Harounan Kazianga & Leigh Linden & Arif Mamun & Ali Protik & Matt Sloan, "undated". "Ten-Year Impacts of Burkina Faso's BRIGHT Program," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 2ecdd42bb503422b802ce20da, Mathematica Policy Research.
    19. Lars-Erik Borge & Arnt O. Hopland, 2017. "Schools and public buildings in decay: the role of political fragmentation," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 85-105, February.
    20. C. Kirabo Jackson, 2018. "Does School Spending Matter? The New Literature on an Old Question," NBER Working Papers 25368, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Olawunmi Omitogun & Farouq Adekunle Akanni & Adedayo Emmanuel Longe & longeemmanuel28@gmail.com, 2019. "Disaggregated Government Expenditure and Education Enrolment in Nigeria," Izvestiya, Varna University of Economics, issue 4, pages 309-326.
    22. Hashim, Ayesha K. & Strunk, Katharine O. & Marsh, Julie A., 2018. "The new school advantage? Examining the effects of strategic new school openings on student achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 254-266.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    test scores; school construction; home prices;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I22 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Educational Finance; Financial Aid
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • R30 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - General

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