Concept and background
Wilson (1987) argued that concentrated inner-city poverty removed jobs, role models and networks, compounding residents' disadvantages, a debate linked to the underclass. The idea that places shape people goes back to Chicago School urban ecology.
Mechanisms
Jencks and Mayer (1990) outlined collective socialisation by adults, institutional quality, peer influence and relative deprivation. Sampson, Morenoff and Gannon-Rowley (2002) highlighted collective efficacy, neighbours' shared trust and willingness to act, as a key process, and Sampson (2012) documented enduring effects in Chicago.
Evidence and debates
The central problem is selection bias, since families do not choose neighbourhoods at random. The US Moving to Opportunity experiment randomly offered housing vouchers. Ludwig and colleagues (2013) found little change in adult earnings but better health and wellbeing, while Chetty, Hendren and Katz (2016) found large earnings gains for children who moved before age 13, reshaping research on intergenerational mobility. Sharkey and Faber (2014) stress that effects vary by person and timing.
FAQ
- What are neighborhood effects in simple terms?
- Where you grow up and live independently affects your education, income and health.
- What did Moving to Opportunity show?
- Children who moved to lower-poverty areas when young earned more as adults.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Wilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city, the underclass, and public policy. University of Chicago Press. Sparked research on concentrated poverty and neighbourhoods.
- Jencks, C., & Mayer, S. E. (1990). The social consequences of growing up in a poor neighborhood. In L. E. Lynn & M. G. H. McGeary (Eds.), Inner-city poverty in the United States (pp. 111–186). National Academy Press. A classic review of neighbourhood-effect mechanisms.
- Sampson, R. J., Morenoff, J. D., & Gannon-Rowley, T. (2002). Assessing "neighborhood effects": Social processes and new directions in research. Annual Review of Sociology, 28, 443–478. The landmark review of neighbourhood-effects research.
- Sampson, R. J. (2012). Great American city: Chicago and the enduring neighborhood effect. University of Chicago Press. Long-term Chicago evidence of enduring neighbourhood effects.
- Ludwig, J., Duncan, G. J., Gennetian, L. A., Katz, L. F., Kessler, R. C., Kling, J. R., & Sanbonmatsu, L. (2013). Long-term neighborhood effects on low-income families: Evidence from Moving to Opportunity. American Economic Review, 103(3), 226–231. Long-term MTO results for adults.
- Sharkey, P., & Faber, J. W. (2014). Where, when, why, and for whom do residential contexts matter? Moving away from the dichotomous understanding of neighborhood effects. Annual Review of Sociology, 40, 559–579. Who and when neighbourhood contexts matter for.
- Chetty, R., Hendren, N., & Katz, L. F. (2016). The effects of exposure to better neighborhoods on children: New evidence from the Moving to Opportunity experiment. American Economic Review, 106(4), 855–902. Shows gains for children who moved young.