Research

We examine the long-term effects of moving to a high-poverty neighborhood on children’s outcomes, using evidence from a slum clearance program in Chile between 1979 and 1985. During the dictatorship, slum-dwelling families were forced to relocate to low-income areas. Two-thirds of them were relocated to housing projects on the city’s periphery, while one-third received housing at their original locations. We find that 35 years post-policy, displaced children receive 0.81 fewer years of schooling, earn 9% less, and experience higher labor informality compared to non-displaced children. Distance from origin, disrupted social networks, and lower home values explain the negative displacement effects.

This paper examines the short- and medium-term effects of extending maternity leave on women's labor market outcomes, exploiting a reform implemented in Chile in 2011 that increased maternity leave from 84 to 168 days. I combine administrative data on leave claims with employer-employee data to estimate the effect of longer leave on women's employment and wages seven years after giving birth. The results show that, compared to ineligible workers, eligible women extend their maternity leave by 79 days and reduce their use of other sick leave claims. They are also more likely to be formally employed for up to three years after giving birth, and their formal wages increase in the medium term. These positive employment effects are driven by women with low labor market attachment prior to giving birth, who experience a reduction in separation rates and an increased likelihood of working under a permanent contract in the medium term. These results suggest that a longer leave incentivizes employment by helping mothers remain in the formal labor market.

We study the effects of forced displacement on adult mortality. We use evidence from a slum clearance program implemented in Santiago, Chile, between 1979 and 1985, which forced slum dwellers to relocate to public housing in low-income areas. Two-thirds of families were relocated to new housing projects on the periphery of the city, while the rest received housing at their initial location. We compare the outcomes of displaced and non-displaced adults from slums with the same probability of clearance and find that displacement increases mortality. Displaced individuals are 7% less likely to survive 40 years after the intervention and experience a reduction in longevity of 2.5 years. Among those who survive to the age of 65, displacement reduces long-term earnings by 18% and increases the likelihood of developing a disability. The mechanisms suggest that the mortality risk is higher for individuals with higher levels of labor market attachment at baseline and for those whose networks were disrupted.

The Pinochet dictatorship radically changed Chile’s public housing policies in the 1980s. This chapter examines the characteristics of these policies, focusing on affordable housing and slum clearance. The chapter is divided into two parts. The first documents the changes to affordable housing policies and the characteristics of public housing units built after 1975. The second describes policies targeting slum dwellers and discusses the existing economic evidence on the impact of building public housing in peripheral neighborhoods on families’ and children’s socioeconomic outcomes.