Light Rail Effect on Neighborhood Incomes: A Case Study of Houston's METRO Rail

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dc.contributorClarke, Christopher
dc.contributor.authorGoode, Ethan
dc.date.accessioned2021-02-23T16:22:30Z
dc.date.available2021-02-23T16:22:30Z
dc.date.issued2019
dc.description.abstractLight Rail Transit (LRT) is often cited as a progressive policy targeted towards low-income communities in an attempt to alleviate labor-skill mismatch, create time cost savings, and increase income mobility. The literature finds mixed effects on the welfare of neighborhoods after light rail construction. This project investigates the effect LRT has on neighborhood outcomes, using Houston’s METRO Rail extensions. A difference-in-differences model is exploited to compare neighborhoods receiving access to a new rail extension between 2010 and 2017, against neighborhoods where rail extensions are planned but remain unbuilt. We estimate an $11,000 average increase in median income for neighborhoods near the new rail line development; however, most of the gains go to high-income neighborhoods, while low-income neighborhoods see their income decline. The observed income polarization may be explained by poverty magnet and gentrification effects occurring simultaneously across the treated neighborhoods. These results are robust to propensity matching control group selection.
dc.description.departmentEconomics, Department of
dc.description.departmentHonors College
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/7530
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.relation.ispartofSummer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.titleLight Rail Effect on Neighborhood Incomes: A Case Study of Houston's METRO Rail
dc.typePoster

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