A Unified Framework for Measuring Preferences for Schools and Neighborhoods

69 Pages Posted: 15 Nov 2003

See all articles by Patrick J. Bayer

Patrick J. Bayer

Duke University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Robert McMillan

University of Toronto - Department of Economics

Fernando V. Ferreira

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: November 2003

Abstract

This paper sets out a framework for estimating household preferences over a broad range of housing and neighborhood characteristics, some of which are determined by the way that households sort in the housing market. This framework brings together the treatment of heterogeneity and selection that has been the focus of the traditional discrete choice literature with a clear strategy for dealing with the correlation of unobserved neighborhood quality with both school quality and neighborhood sociodemographics. We estimate the model using rich data on a large metropolitan area, drawn from a restricted version of the Census. The estimates indicate that, on average, households are willing to pay an additional one percent in house prices - substantially lower than in prior work - when the average performance of the local school is increased by 5 percent. There is also evidence of considerable preference heterogeneity. We also show that the full capitalization of school quality into housing prices is typically 70-75 percent greater than the direct effect as the result of a social multiplier, neglected in the prior literature, whereby increases in school quality also raises prices by attracting households with more education and income to the corresponding neighborhood.

Keywords: Capitalization, Local Public Goods, School Quality, Discrete Choice Models, Hedonic Price Regression, Education Demand

JEL Classification: D58, H0, H4, H7, I2, R21, R31

Suggested Citation

Bayer, Patrick J. and McMillan, Robert and Ferreira, Fernando V., A Unified Framework for Measuring Preferences for Schools and Neighborhoods (November 2003). Yale University Economic Growth Center Discussion Paper No. 872, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=466280

Patrick J. Bayer (Contact Author)

Duke University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Robert McMillan

University of Toronto - Department of Economics ( email )

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Fernando V. Ferreira

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School ( email )

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215-573-2220 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://real.wharton.upenn.edu/~fferreir/

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