The academic effects of chronic exposure to neighbourhood violence

Abstract

This paper estimates the causal effect of repeated exposure to violent crime on test scores in New York City. We use two empirical strategies; value-added models linking student performance on standardised exams to violent crimes on students’ residential block, and a regression discontinuity approach that identifies the acute effect of additional crime exposure within a one-week window. Exposure to violent crime reduces academic performance. Value-added models suggest the average effect is very small (approximately −0.01 standard deviations) but grows with repeated exposure. Regression discontinuity (RD) models also find a larger effect among children previously exposed. The marginal acute effect is as large as −0.04 standard deviations for students with two or more prior exposures. Among these, it is almost one tenth of a standard deviation for Black students. We provide credible causal evidence that repeated exposure to neighbourhood violence harms test scores, and this negative effect increases with exposure.

Extreme Violence and Weight-Related Outcomes in Mexican Adults

“…The estimation strategy in this article was based on research that exploits variation in the timing of a given outcome relative to violent events taking place in the same environment, which can be plausibly exogenous to individual and household characteristics (Schwartz et al 2022; Sharkey 2010). Specifically, weight measurements were collected in the same municipality across different months.…”

“…In this article, I extend research on unsafe residential contexts by examining the weight-related, short-term consequences of armed conflict violence. In so doing, I draw and integrate elements from research on social disorganization and armed conflicts and wars and leverage the methods recently refined and applied in the "environmental violence" literature (Schwartz et al 2022;Sharkey 2010Sharkey , 2018. I illustrate the utility of this approach with the case of the armed conflict created by the Mexican "War on Organized Crime" (WOC).…”

“…Even so, I control for these characteristics in the substantive models, eliminating the possibility of bias. Previous work with similar research designs has also followed this strategy (Schwartz et al 2022).…”

Community violence and early childhood language development: The moderating role of maternal efficacy and satisfaction

“…For example, children in more violent settings may be exposed to other sources of disadvantage or community stressors that negatively affect their development. To overcome this limitation, we follow prior work (McCoy et al, 2023;Schwartz et al, 2022;Sharkey et al, 2012) and exploit the random timing of homicides in a community relative to the ELPI data collection dates. In doing so, our empirical strategy compares children living in municipalities (comunas) in which there was at least one homicide in the month before they received a language assessment to children living in the same municipality but for whom the homicides happened in the month after the assessment.…”

Avoiding Danger on the Way to School: Exposure to Violent Crime, Public Transportation, and Absenteeism

“…Research consistently shows that students exposed to areas with high violent crime rates, regardless of their own involvement in those crimes, have lower test scores and graduation rates than those from safer neighborhoods (Burdick-Will, 2016;Harding, 2009;Schwartz et al, 2016;Sharkey, 2010). The mechanisms proposed in most of these studies rely on cultural or linguistic isolation, symptoms of cognitive stress, or social adaptations that draw students away from academic pursuits (Sharkey et al, 2012;Harding 2010;Sampson et al, 2008;Shonkoff et al, 2012).…”