Employment Outcomes of the Clarksdale HOPE VI Program

Journal of Social Research & Policy, Volume: 10, Issue: 2, Online First

Date: December 2019

ISSN: 2067-2640 (print), 2068-9861 (electronic)

Abstract: The HOPE VI initiative aimed to reshape neighborhoods in terms of their resident socioeconomic characteristics, business activity, levels of community collaboration, and economic growth. The goal of this research was to examine the relationship between education and employment while controlling for the type of housing received at relocation. This paper is part of a larger quasi-experimental research evaluation. Data sources included administrative records, baseline and follow-up surveys. The survey data was collected from the main adult in the family during face-to-face interviews two years apart. The questionnaire collected information about residents’ demographics, socioeconomic, health, housing, and satisfaction with the support services. For this paper, the focus was on education, type of housing received at relocation, and employment status at relocation. Even though the follow-up survey was conducted during the 2009 recession, the results show that improvements in education made a significant difference in the employment outcomes, particularly for the residents who were not relocated in another public housing development.

Keywords: Public Housing; HOPE VI; Employment; Education; Poverty; Urban Revitalization; Subsidies.