RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Taken by Storm
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 1608
OP 1643
DO 10.3368/jhr.58.5.0819-10367R2
VO 58
IS 5
A1 Harris, Douglas N.
A1 Larsen, Matthew F.
YR 2023
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/58/5/1608.abstract
AB Hurricane Katrina was one of the nation’s worst natural disasters. It also triggered one of the nation’s most intense market-based school reforms, in which almost all traditional public schools were turned into charter schools. We study the effects of these combined events on students who attended New Orleans public schools before and after the storm. Using matched difference-in-differences, we find that student test scores, high school graduation, college attendance, and college graduation all rose sharply. Most racial and income gaps in outcomes declined. The school reforms appear to have been the main mechanism.