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Location, Housing and Employment Opportunities - Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial with Vulnerable Youth in France

Author

Listed:
  • Vera Chiodi

    (Sorbonne University Paris)

  • Bruno Crépon

    (CREST-ENSAE)

  • Guillermo Cruces

    (Universidad de San Andrés, CONICET, and University of Nottingham)

Abstract

Housing conditions, residential location, and employment are key determinants of individual welfare, particularly for vulnerable populations facing credit constraints and information frictions. We examine how housing assistance affects employment outcomes using a randomized controlled trial in France that provided vulnerable youth (aged 18–25) with both job search assistance and housing support, including rent guarantees. The program successfully improved housing conditions: beneficiaries experienced better accommodation stability, reduced precarious situations, and increased satisfaction with their housing. However, despite substantial social worker support, the program did not improve employment rates, contract types, or earnings. Strikingly, beneficiaries moved to neighborhoods with objectively worse employment opportunities and lower socioeconomic indicators, yet reported higher satisfaction with their residential areas. This apparent paradox reveals that beneficiaries appear to prioritize housing affordability and conditions over employment access. Our results suggest that successful interventions may need to explicitly balance housing improvements with maintaining access to employment opportunities.

Suggested Citation

  • Vera Chiodi & Bruno Crépon & Guillermo Cruces, 2026. "Location, Housing and Employment Opportunities - Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial with Vulnerable Youth in France," Working Papers 180, Universidad de San Andres, Departamento de Economia, revised Feb 2026.
    • Handle: RePEc:sad:wpaper:180
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    File URL: https://repec.udesa.edu.ar/pub/econ/doc180.pdf
    File Function: First version, February 2026
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J8 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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