Abstract

We examined family and neighborhood sources of socioeconomic inequality in children’s reading and mathematics achievement using data from the 2000–2001 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey. To describe inequality in achievement scores, we used Gini coefficients and concentration indices and multilevel regression models. We found no inequality in children’s achievement by family income when other variables in the model were held constant. Mother’s reading scores and average neighborhood levels of income accounted for the largest proportion of inequality in children’s achievement. Neighborhood economic status appears to be strongly associated with children’s skills acquisition.

The text of this article is only available as a PDF.

References

Aaronson, D. (
1997
).
Sibling Estimates of Neighborhood Effects
. In Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G.J., & Aber, J.L. (Eds.),
Neighborhood Poverty, Volume II: Policy Implications in Studying Neighborhoods
(pp.
80
93
).
New York
:
Russell Sage Foundation
.
Aaronson, D. (
1998
).
Using Sibling Data to Estimate the Impact of Neighborhoods on Children’s Educational Outcomes
.
Journal of Human Resources
,
33
,
915
46
. 10.2307/146403
Aber, J.L., Gephart, M., Brooks-Gunn, J., Connell, J., & Spencer, M.B. (
1997
).
Neighborhood, Family and Individual Processes as They Influence Child and Adolescent Outcomes
. In Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G.J., & Aber, J.L. (Eds.),
Neighborhood Poverty, Volume I: Context and Consequences for Development
(pp.
44
61
).
New York
:
Russell Sage Foundation
.
Achen, C.H. (
1982
).
Interpreting and Using Regression
.
Beverly Hills
:
Sage Publications
.
Ainsworth, J.W. (
2002
).
Why Does It Take a Village? The Mediation of Neighborhood Effects on Educational Achievement
.
Social Forces
,
81
,
117
52
. 10.1353/sof.2002.0038
Atkinson, A.B. (
1970
).
On the Measurement of Inequality
.
Journal of Economic Theory
,
2
,
244
63
. 10.1016/0022-0531(70)90039-6
Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G.J., & Aber, J.L. (
1997
).
Neighborhood Poverty, Volume I: Context and Consequences for Children
.
New York
:
Russell Sage Foundation
.
Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G.J., Klebanov, P.K., & Sealand, N. (
1993
).
Do Neighborhoods Affect Child and Adolescent Development?
.
American Journal of Sociology
,
99
,
353
95
. 10.1086/230268
Caughy, M.O., & O’Campo, P.J. (
2006
).
Neighborhood Poverty, Social Capital, and the Cognitive Development of African American Preschoolers
.
American Journal of Community Psychology
,
37
,
141
54
. 10.1007/s10464-005-9001-8
Coleman, J.S. (
1988
).
Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital
.
American Sociological Review
,
94
,
S95
S120
. 10.1086/228943
Crowder, K., & South, S.J. (
2003
).
Neighborhood Distress and School Dropout: The Variable Significance of Community Context
.
Social Science Research
,
32
,
659
98
. 10.1016/S0049-089X(03)00035-8
DeNavas-Walt, C., & Cleveland, R.W. (
2002
).
Money Income in the United States: 2001
entCurr Population Reports
.
Washington, DC
:
U.S. Bureau of the Census
.
Downey, D.B., von Hippel, P.T., & Broh, B.A. (
2004
).
Are Schools the Great Equalizer? Cognitive Inequality During the Summer Months and the School Year
.
American Sociological Review
,
69
,
613
35
. 10.1177/000312240406900501
Duncan, G.J., & Aber, J.L. (
1997
).
Neighborhood Models and Measures
. In Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G.J., & Aber, J.L. (Eds.),
Neighborhood Poverty, Volume I: Context and Consequences for Children
(pp.
62
78
).
New York
:
Russell Sage Foundation
.
Duncan, G.J., & Raudenbush, S.W. (
1999
).
Assessing the Effects of Context in Studies of Child and Youth Development
.
Educational Psychologist
,
34
,
29
41
. 10.1207/s15326985ep3401_3
Entwisle, D.R., & Alexander, K.L. (
1992
).
Summer Setback: Race, Poverty, School Composition, and Math Achievement in the First Two Years of School
.
American Sociological Review
,
57
,
72
84
. 10.2307/2096145
Entwisle, D.R., & Alexander, K.L. (
1994
).
The Gender Gap in Math: Its Possible Origins in Neighborhood Effects
.
American Sociological Review
,
59
,
822
38
. 10.2307/2096370
Farkas, G., England, P., Vicknar, K., & Kilbourne, B.S. (
1997
).
Cognitive Skill, Skill Demands of Jobs, and Earnings Among Young European American, African American, and Mexican American Workers
.
Social Forces
,
75
,
913
38
. 10.2307/2580524
Fischer, M.J., & Kmec, J.A. (
2004
).
Neighborhood Socioeconomic Conditions as Moderators of Family Resource Transmission: High School Completion Among At-Risk Youth
.
Sociological Perspectives
,
47
,
507
27
. 10.1525/sop.2004.47.4.507
Ginther, D., Haveman, R., & Wolfe, B. (
2000
).
Neighborhood Attributes as Determinants of Children’s Outcomes: How Robust Are the Relationships?
.
Journal of Human Resources
,
35
,
603
42
. 10.2307/146365
Gogtay, N., Giedd, J.N., Lusk, L., Hayashi, K.M., Greenstein, D., Vaituzis, A.C., Nugent, T.F., Herman, D.H., Clasen, L.S., Toga, A.W., Rapoport, J.L., & Thompson, P.M. (
2004
).
Dynamic Mapping of Human Cortical Development During Childhood Through Early Adulthood
.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
,
101
,
8174
79
. 10.1073/pnas.0402680101
Greenland, S., Schlesselman, J.J., & Criqui, M.H. (
1986
).
The Fallacy of Employing Standardized Regression Coefficients and Correlations as Measure of Effect
.
American Journal of Epidemiology
,
123
,
203
208
.
Guo, G., & Harris, K.M. (
2000
).
The Mechanisms Mediating the Effects of Poverty on Children’s Intellectual Development
.
Demography
,
37
,
431
47
. 10.1353/dem.2000.0005
Hao, L., & Naiman, D.Q. (
2007
).
Quantile Regression
.
Thousand Oaks, CA
:
Sage Publications
.
Hauser, R.M., Warren, J.R., Huang, M.-H., & Carter, W.Y. (
2000
).
Occupational Status, Education, and Social Mobility in the Meritocracy
. In Arrow, K., Bowles, S., & Durlauf, S. (Eds.),
Meritocracy and Inequality
(pp.
179
229
).
Princeton, NJ
:
Princeton University Press
.
Heckman, J.J. (
2006
).
Skill Formation and the Economics of Investing in Disadvantaged Children
.
Science
,
312
,
1900
902
. 10.1126/science.1128898
Jargowsky, P.A. (
1997
).
Poverty and Place: Ghettos, Barrios, and the American City
.
New York
:
Russell Sage Foundation
.
Jencks, C., & Mayer, S.E. (
1990
).
The Social Consequences of Growing Up in a Poor Neighborhood
. In Lynn, L.E., & McGeary, M.G.H. (Eds.),
Inner City Poverty in the United States
(pp.
111
86
).
Washington, DC
:
National Academies Press
.
Jencks, C., & Phillips, M. (
1988
).
The Black-White Test Score Gap
.
Washington, DC
:
Brookings Institution Press
.
Kail, R. (
2006
).
Children and Their Development
.
New York
:
Prentice Hall
.
Kakwani, N.C. (
1977
).
Measurement of Tax Progressivity: An International Comparison
.
Economic Journal
,
87
,
71
80
. 10.2307/2231833
Kakwani, N.C. (
1980
).
Income Inequality and Poverty: Methods of Estimation and Policy Application
.
New York
:
Oxford University Press
.
Kakwani, N., Wagstaff, A., & van Doorslaer, E. (
1997
).
Socioeconomic Inequalities in Health: Measurement, Computation, and Statistical Inference
.
Journal of Econometrics
,
77
,
87
103
. 10.1016/S0304-4076(96)01807-6
Kerckhoff, A.C., Raudenbush, S.W., & Glennie, E. (
2001
).
Education, Cognitive Skill, and Labor Force Outcomes
.
Sociology of Education
,
74
,
1
24
. 10.2307/2673142
Kim, J.O., & Ferree, G. (
1981
).
Standardization in Causal Analysis
.
Sociological Methods and Research
,
10
,
187
210
.
King, G. (
1986
).
How Not to Lie With Statistics: Avoiding Common Mistakes in Quantitative Political Science
.
American Journal of Political Science
,
30
,
666
87
. 10.2307/2111095
Klebanov, P.K., Brooks-Gunn, J., & Duncan, G.J. (
1994
).
Does Neighborhood and Family Poverty Affect Mother’s Parenting, Mental Health and Social Support?
.
Journal of Marriage and the Family
,
56
,
441
55
. 10.2307/353111
Klebanov, P.K., Brooks-Gunn, J., Chase-Landsdale, P.L., & Gordon, R.A. (
1997
).
Are Neighborhood Effects on Young Children Mediated by Features of the Home Environment?
. In Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G., & Aber, J.L. (Eds.),
Neighborhood Poverty, Volume I: Context and Consequences for Development
(pp.
119
45
).
New York
:
Russell Sage Foundation
.
Kling, J.R., Liebman, J.B., & Katz, L.F. (
2007
).
Experimental Analysis of Neighborhood Effects
.
Econometrica
,
75
,
83
119
. 10.1111/j.1468-0262.2007.00733.x
Kochhar, R. 2004. “The Wealth of Hispanic Households: 1996 to 2002.” Pew Hispanic Center report. Available online at http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/34.pdf.
Koenker, R. (
2005
).
Quantile Regression
.
New York
:
Cambridge University Press
.
Kohen, D.E., Brooks-Gunn, J., Leventhal, T., & Hertzman, C. (
2002
).
Neighborhood Income and Physical and Social Disorder in Canada: Associations With Young Children’s Competencies
.
Child Development
,
73
,
1844
60
. 10.1111/1467-8624.t01-1-00510
Korbin, J., & Coulton, C. (
1997
).
Understanding the Neighborhood Context for Children and Families: Combining Epidemiological and Ethnographic Approaches
. In Brooks-Gunn, J., Duncan, G.J., & Aber, J.L. (Eds.),
Neighborhood Poverty Volume II: Policy Implications in Studying Neighborhood
(pp.
65
79
).
New York
:
Russell Sage
.
Leventhal, T., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (
2000
).
The Neighborhoods They Live In: The Effects of Neighborhood Residence on Child and Adolescent Outcomes
.
Psychological Bulletin
,
126
,
309
37
. 10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.309
Logan, J.R., Stults, B.J., & Farley, R. (
2004
).
Segregation of Minorities in the Metropolis: Two Decades of Change
.
Demography
,
41
,
1
22
. 10.1353/dem.2004.0007
Mayer, S. (
1997
).
What Money Can’t Buy
.
Cambridge, MA
:
Harvard University Press
.
McCulloch, A., & Joshi, H.E. (
2001
).
Neighborhood and Family Influences on the Cognitive Ability of Children in the British National Child Development Study
.
Social Science and Medicine
,
53
,
579
91
. 10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00362-2
McGrew, K.S., Werder, J.K., & Woodcock, R.W. (
1991
).
WJ-R Technical Manual: A Reference on Theory and Current Research
.
Chicago
:
Riverside
.
McLoyd, V.C. (
1990
).
The Impact of Economic Hardship on Black Families and Children: Psychological Distress, Parenting and Socioemotional Development
.
Child Development
,
61
,
311
46
. 10.2307/1131096
Neckerman, K.M., & Torche, F. (
2007
).
Inequality: Causes and Consequences
.
Annual Review of Sociology
,
33
,
335
57
. 10.1146/annurev.soc.33.040406.131755
Newey, W.K., & West, K.D. (
1987
).
A Simple, Positive Semi-Definite, Heteroskedasticity and Autocorrelation Consistent Covariance Matrix
.
Econometrica
,
55
,
703
708
. 10.2307/1913610
Ogden, C.L., Fryar, C.D., Carroll, M.D., & Flegal, K.M. (
2004
).
Mean Body Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index, United States, 1960–2002
Advance Data From Vital and Health Statistics
.
Hyattsville, MD
:
National Center for Health Statistics
.
Oliver, M.L., & Shapiro, T.M. (
1997
).
Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality
.
New York
:
Routledge
.
Pong, S.L., & Hao, L.X. (
2007
).
Neighborhood and School Factors in the School Performance of Immigrants’ Children
.
International Migration Review
,
41
,
206
41
. 10.1111/j.1747-7379.2007.00062.x
Pyatt, G., Chen, C.N., & Fei, J. (
1980
).
The Distribution of Income by Factor Components
.
Quarterly Journal of Economics
,
95
,
451
73
. 10.2307/1885088
Rivkin, S.G., Hanushek, E.A., & Kain, J.F. (
2005
).
Teachers, Schools and Academic Achievement
.
Econometrica
,
73
,
417
58
. 10.1111/j.1468-0262.2005.00584.x
Sampson, R.J., Morenoff, J.D., & Earls, F. (
1999
).
Beyond Social Capital: Neighborhood Mechanisms and Structural Sources of Collective Efficacy for Children
.
American Sociological Review
,
64
,
633
60
. 10.2307/2657367
Sampson, R.J., Raudenbush, S.W., & Earls, F. (
1997
).
Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy
.
Science
,
277
,
918
24
. 10.1126/science.277.5328.918
Sampson, R.J., Sharkey, P., & Raudenbush, S.W. (
2008
).
Durable Effects of Concentrated Disadvantage on Verbal Ability Among African-American Children
.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
,
105
,
845
52
. 10.1073/pnas.0710189104
Sanbonmatsu, L., Kling, J.R., Duncan, G.J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (
2006
).
Neighborhoods and Academic Achievement: Results From the MTO Experiment
.
Journal of Human Resources
,
41
,
649
91
.
Sastry, N., Ghosh-Dastidar, B., Adams, J., & Pebley, A.R. (
2006
).
The Design of a Multilevel Survey of Children, Families, and Communities: The Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Study
.
Social Science Research
,
35
,
1000
24
. 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2005.08.002
Shonkoff, J.P., & Phillips, D. (
2000
).
From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Development
.
Washington, DC
:
National Academies Press
.
Smith, J.P. (
1995
).
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Wealth in the Health and Retirement Study
.
Journal of Human Resources
,
XXX
,
S158
S183
. 10.2307/146282
Solon, G., Page, M.E., & Duncan, G.J. (
2000
).
Correlations Between Neighboring Children in Their Subsequent Educational Attainment
.
Review of Economics and Statistics
,
82
,
383
92
. 10.1162/003465300558885
Todd, P.E. and K.I. Wolpin. 2006. “The Production of Cognitive Achievement in Children: Home, School and Racial Test Score Gaps.” Unpublished manuscript. Available online at http://athena.sas.upenn.edu/~petra/papers/revpaper.pdf.
Turley, R.N.L. (
2003
).
When Do Neighborhoods Matter? The Role of Race and Neighborhood Peers
.
Social Science Research
,
32
,
61
79
. 10.1016/S0049-089X(02)00013-3
Waber, D.P., De Moor, C., Forbes, P.W., Almli, C.R., Botteron, K.N., Leonard, G., Milovan, D., Paus, T., & Rumsey, J.
Brain Development Cooperative Group
(
2007
).
The NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain Development: Performance of a Population Based Sample of Healthy Children Aged 6 to 18 on a Neuropsychological Battery
.
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
,
13
,
729
46
. 10.1017/S1355617707070841
Wagstaff, A. (
2002
).
Inequality Aversion, Health Inequalities, and Health Achievement
.
Journal of Health Economics
,
21
,
627
41
. 10.1016/S0167-6296(02)00006-1
Wagstaff, A., Paci, P., & van Doorslaer, E. (
1991
).
On the Measurement of Inequalities in Health
.
Social Science and Medicine
,
33
,
545
57
. 10.1016/0277-9536(91)90212-U
Wilson, W.J. (
1987
).
The Truly Disadvantaged
.
Chicago
:
University of Chicago Press
.
Yeung, W.J., Linver, M.R., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (
2002
).
How Money Matters for Young Children’s Development: Parental Investment and Family Processes
.
Child Development
,
73
,
1861
79
. 10.1111/1467-8624.t01-1-00511
Yitzhaki, S. (
1983
).
On an Extension of the Gini Inequality Index
.
International Economic Review
,
24
,
617
28
. 10.2307/2648789
Woodcock, R.W., & Mather, N. (
1989
).
Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery—Revised
.
Chicago
:
Riverside
.