IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jopoec/v32y2019i2d10.1007_s00148-018-0704-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Concrete measures: the rise of public housing and changes in young single motherhood in the U.S

Author

Listed:
  • Katharine L. Shester

    (Washington and Lee University)

  • Samuel K. Allen

    (Virginia Military Institute)

  • Christopher Handy

    (Washington and Lee University)

Abstract

Between 1950 and 1970, the number of public housing units in the United States grew nearly sixfold, and the percentage of births to unmarried women almost tripled. We provide the first estimates of the effect of public housing on single motherhood, using individual-level data to assess whether young women living near higher concentrations of public housing were more likely to have children out of wedlock. We find a strong and positive relationship between public housing and single motherhood for black high school dropouts. This link is larger when we use lagged measures of public housing, which suggests that exposure during childhood may be driving the result.

Suggested Citation

  • Katharine L. Shester & Samuel K. Allen & Christopher Handy, 2019. "Concrete measures: the rise of public housing and changes in young single motherhood in the U.S," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(2), pages 369-418, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:32:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s00148-018-0704-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-018-0704-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00148-018-0704-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00148-018-0704-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brian A. Jacob, 2004. "Public Housing, Housing Vouchers, and Student Achievement: Evidence from Public Housing Demolitions in Chicago," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 233-258, March.
    2. Williamson Hoyne, Hilary, 1997. "Does welfare play any role in female headship decisions?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 89-117, August.
    3. T. Paul Schultz, 1994. "Marital Status and Fertility in the United States: Welfare and Labor Market Effects," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 29(2), pages 637-669.
    4. Eric Chyn, 2018. "Moved to Opportunity: The Long-Run Effects of Public Housing Demolition on Children," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(10), pages 3028-3056, October.
    5. Aliprantis, Dionissi & Hartley, Daniel, 2015. "Blowing it up and knocking it down: The local and city-wide effects of demolishing high concentration public housing on crime," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 67-81.
    6. Currie, Janet & Yelowitz, Aaron, 2000. "Are public housing projects good for kids?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 99-124, January.
    7. Robert Moffitt, 1994. "Welfare Effects on Female Headship with Area Effects," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 29(2), pages 621-636.
    8. Jordan Matsudaira, 2016. "Economic conditions and the living arrangements of young adults: 1960 to 2011," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 167-195, January.
    9. Bloom, B. & Dawson, D., 1991. "Family structure and child health," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 81(11), pages 1526-1527.
    10. Elizabeth Oltmans Ananat, 2011. "The Wrong Side(s) of the Tracks: The Causal Effects of Racial Segregation on Urban Poverty and Inequality," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 34-66, April.
    11. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn & Jane Waldfogel, 2000. "Understanding Young Women's Marriage Decisions: The Role of Labor and Marriage Market Conditions," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 53(4), pages 624-647, July.
    12. Collins, William J. & Margo, Robert A., 2000. "Residential segregation and socioeconomic outcomes: When did ghettos go bad?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 239-243, November.
    13. Joseph Sabia, 2008. "Blacks and the family cap: pregnancy, abortion, and spillovers," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 21(1), pages 111-134, January.
    14. George A. Akerlof & Janet L. Yellen & Michael L. Katz, 1996. "An Analysis of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 277-317.
    15. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Lawrence F. Katz, 2016. "The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(4), pages 855-902, April.
    16. Sandler, Danielle H., 2017. "Externalities of public housing: The effect of public housing demolitions on local crime," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 24-35.
    17. Sinai, Todd & Waldfogel, Joel, 2005. "Do low-income housing subsidies increase the occupied housing stock?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(11-12), pages 2137-2164, December.
    18. Schultz, T. Paul, 1998. "Eroding the economic foundations of marriage and fertility in the United States," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 391-413, December.
    19. Jordan D. Matsudaira, 2016. "Economic conditions and the living arrangements of young adults: 1960 to 2011," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(1), pages 167-195, January.
    20. Robert Collinson & Ingrid Gould Ellen & Jens Ludwig, 2015. "Low-Income Housing Policy," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 2, pages 59-126, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. David M. Cutler & Edward L. Glaeser, 1997. "Are Ghettos Good or Bad?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(3), pages 827-872.
    22. Murray, Michael P, 1999. "Subsidized and Unsubsidized Housing Stocks 1935 to 1987: Crowding Out and Cointegration," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 107-124, January.
    23. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn & FJane Waldfogel, 2004. "The Impact of Welfare Benefits on Single Motherhood and Headship of Young Women: Evidence from the Census," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(2).
    24. Aiken, Michael & Alford, Robert R., 1970. "Community Structure and Innovation: The Case of Public Housing," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 64(3), pages 843-864, September.
    25. Sheldon Danziger & George Jakubson & Saul Schwartz & Eugene Smolensky, 1982. "Work and Welfare as Determinants of Female Poverty and Household Headship," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 97(3), pages 519-534.
    26. Martha J. Bailey, 2006. "More Power to the Pill: The Impact of Contraceptive Freedom on Women's Life Cycle Labor Supply," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(1), pages 289-320.
    27. Shester, Katharine L., 2013. "The Local Economic Effects of Public Housing in the United States, 1940–1970," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 73(4), pages 978-1016, December.
    28. Carolyn M. Moehling, 2007. "The American Welfare System and Family Structure: An Historical Perspective," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 42(1).
    29. Ermisch, John, 1999. "Prices, Parents, and Young People's Household Formation," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 47-71, January.
    30. William H. Carter & Michael H. Schill & Susan M. Wachter, 1998. "Polarisation, Public Housing and Racial Minorities in US Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 35(10), pages 1889-1911, October.
    31. Robert G. Wood, 1995. "Marriage Rates and Marriageable Men: A Test of the Wilson Hypothesis," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30(1), pages 163-193.
    32. John Weicher, 1980. "Housing: Federal Policies and Programs," Books, American Enterprise Institute, number 650583, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yana Kucheva, 2018. "Subsidized Housing and the Transition to Adulthood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(2), pages 617-642, April.
    2. Libertad González Luna, 2005. "The determinants of the prevalence of single mothers: A cross-country analysis," Economics Working Papers 876, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    3. Gonzalez, Libertad, 2007. "The effect of benefits on single motherhood in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 393-412, June.
    4. Blanco, Hector, 2023. "Pecuniary effects of public housing demolitions: Evidence from Chicago," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    5. Panza, Laura, 2020. "The impact of ethnic segregation on schooling outcomes in Mandate Palestine," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    6. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn & FJane Waldfogel, 2004. "The Impact of Welfare Benefits on Single Motherhood and Headship of Young Women: Evidence from the Census," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(2).
    7. Marianne Bitler & Jonah Gelbach & Hilary Hoynes & Madeline Zavodny, 2004. "The impact of welfare reform on marriage and divorce," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(2), pages 213-236, May.
    8. Blanco, Hector & Neri, Lorenzo, 2023. "Knocking It Down and Mixing It Up: The Impact of Public Housing Regenerations," IZA Discussion Papers 15855, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Joel Kaiyuan Han, 2022. "Parental involvement and neighborhood quality: evidence from public housing demolitions in Chicago," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1193-1238, December.
    10. Christian A. L. Hilber & Olivier Schoni, 2022. "Housing policy and affordable housing," CEP Occasional Papers 56, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    11. Dionissi Aliprantis & Hal Martin & Kristen Tauber, 2020. "What Determines the Success of Housing Mobility Programs?," Working Papers 20-36R, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, revised 19 Oct 2022.
    12. Victoria Gregory & Julian Kozlowski & Hannah Rubinton, 2022. "The Impact of Racial Segregation on College Attainment in Spatial Equilibrium," Working Papers 2022-036, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, revised 27 Nov 2024.
    13. Richard Disney & John Gathergood & Stephen Machin & Matteo Sandi, 2020. "Does homeownership reduce crime? A radical housing reform in Britain," CEP Discussion Papers dp1685, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    14. Dionissi Aliprantis, 2017. "Human capital in the inner city," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 1125-1169, November.
    15. Edward L. Glaeser, 2012. "Urban Public Finance," NBER Working Papers 18244, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Richard Disney & John Gathergood & Stephen Machin & Matteo Sandi, 2023. "Does Homeownership Reduce Crime? A Radical Housing Reform from the UK," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(655), pages 2640-2675.
    17. Fredrik Andersson & John C. Haltiwanger & Mark J. Kutzbach & Giordano Palloni & Henry O. Pollakowski & Daniel H. Weinberg, 2013. "Childhood Housing and Adult Earnings: A Between-Siblings Analysis of Housing Vouchers and Public Housing," Working Papers 13-48, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    18. Eerola, Essi & Saarimaa, Tuukka, 2018. "Delivering affordable housing and neighborhood quality: A comparison of place- and tenant-based programs," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 44-54.
    19. David C. Phillips, 2020. "Measuring Housing Stability With Consumer Reference Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(4), pages 1323-1344, August.
    20. R. A. Moffitt, "undated". "The Effect of Welfare on Marriage and Fertility: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Know?," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1153-97, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public housing; Single motherhood; Fertility; Marriage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • N32 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: 1913-

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:32:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s00148-018-0704-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.