Concentrated Poverty vs. Concentrated Affluence: Effects on Neighborhood Social Environments and Children's Outcomes

Anne Pebley, University of California, Los Angeles

Ample social theory supports the idea that social environments affect children's development. Nonetheless, the evidence on neighborhood effects is contradictory and often weak. This paper uses new data from the 2000-2001 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS) to examine neighborhood effects on two measures of children's growth and development: (1) reading and problem solving skills (measured by Woodcock-Johnson Revised standardized tests), and (2) social and psychological development (measured by the Behavior Problems Index). Our analysis is presented in two parts. First, we examine the relationship of neighborhood level poverty, affluence, turnover rates, ethnic composition, immigrant composition, and crime rates and measures of neighborhood social control, social cohesion, and social interactions among neighbors. Second, we use both fixed effects and random effects models to examine the effects of neighborhood and family characteristics on children's outcomes.