Neighborhood Effects, the Life Course, and Educational Outcomes: Four Theoretical Models of Effect Heterogeneity

Abstract

In this chapter, I review research analyzing heterogeneity in neighborhood effects on educational attainment. Using a life-course perspective on neighborhood effects, I describe four potential models of effect heterogeneity: cumulative advantage, cumulative disadvantage, advantage leveling, and compensatory advantage. Extant research most thoroughly explores effect heterogeneity by family socioeconomic background with evidence in support of multiple models. Research on secondary outcomes like achievement and dropout finds evidence of a cumulative disadvantage model, whereas research on bachelor’s degree completion finds evidence of an advantage leveling model. Still, scholarship on heterogeneity in neighborhood effects is in its nascency, and I conclude this chapter with several recommendations for future directions in research.