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Housing Affordability And Children's Cognitive Achievement
Sandra Newman1, C Scott Holupka2
1Sandra Newman (sjn@jhu.edu) is a professor of policy studies in the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Health Affairs (Project Hope)
|November 12, 2016
Summary
High housing cost burden negatively impacts children's cognitive development. Optimal affordability, around 30% of income, maximizes cognitive achievement and enrichment spending for child development.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Economics
- Public Health
Background:
- Housing cost burden, the proportion of income spent on housing, is a widespread issue impacting millions of low- and moderate-income children.
- High housing costs reduce parental disposable income, affecting spending on necessities, enrichment, and investments crucial for child development.
- These financial constraints can negatively influence children's cognitive skills and overall health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide the first empirical evidence on the effects of housing affordability on children's cognitive achievement.
- To investigate the role of parental spending on child enrichment as a mediating factor in the relationship between housing affordability and child development.
Main Methods:
- The study examined the relationship between housing cost burden and children's cognitive achievement.
- It also analyzed the association between housing cost burden and family expenditures on child enrichment.
- Statistical modeling was used to identify the shape and significance of these relationships.
Main Results:
- Housing cost burden exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with both children's cognitive achievement and enrichment spending.
- Optimal housing affordability, approximately 30% of income, is associated with the highest levels of cognitive achievement and enrichment spending.
- The impact of housing cost burden is more significant for math ability than reading comprehension, particularly when exceeding the 30% affordability standard.
Conclusions:
- Housing affordability significantly influences children's cognitive development and enrichment opportunities.
- Maintaining housing costs around 30% of income appears to be a critical threshold for promoting positive child outcomes.
- Policies aimed at ensuring housing affordability may have substantial benefits for children's cognitive and developmental trajectories.
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