Growing Up Poor: Cumulative Neighborhood Exposure and Mobility in the PSID

• In Event: Place, Poverty, and Safety Net Assistance across State and Local Contexts

Abstract

This paper examines how sustained exposure to poverty during childhood shapes long-term economic mobility, using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). A substantial body of research demonstrates that place plays a central role in structuring life chances, yet less is known about how the duration and accumulation of exposure to disadvantaged environments over the full course of childhood influence adult outcomes. This study conceptualizes childhood poverty not as a static condition, but as a cumulative exposure process unfolding from birth through early adulthood.The analysis constructs a measure of neighborhood poverty exposure spanning ages 0–18, capturing both the intensity and persistence of disadvantage experienced throughout childhood and adolescence. This exposure is linked to adult economic outcomes—measured as income rank in adulthood—to assess intergenerational mobility. By focusing on cumulative exposure, the study builds on prior work showing that the timing and duration of neighborhood conditions are critical for understanding inequality (e.g., Sharkey 2013 Sampson 2012; Manduca 2019). These studies emphasize that persistent exposure to disadvantaged contexts—rather than short-term residence—plays a central role in shaping long-term socioeconomic outcomes.Drawing on these insights, the paper documents patterns of cumulative poverty exposure in the PSID and situates them within the broader literature on neighborhood effects and intergenerational inequality. Prior research suggests that prolonged exposure to high-poverty environments is associated with reduced economic mobility, driven by mechanisms such as diminished access to institutional resources, concentrated disadvantage, and limited social capital (Sampson 2012; Sharkey 2013). Similarly, Manduca (2019) highlights the role of spatial inequality and place-based disparities in reproducing economic stratification across generations. Taken together, this body of work implies that individuals exposed to higher and more persistent levels of neighborhood poverty over childhood are likely to experience lower income attainment in adulthood.Rather than presenting causal estimates, this study provides a descriptive foundation for understanding how exposure to poverty unfolds over the life course. It highlights variation in both the level and duration of neighborhood disadvantage experienced by children, illustrating how unequal exposure trajectories may contribute to observed disparities in economic mobility. By shifting attention from point-in-time measures of place to cumulative exposure across ages 0–18, the paper offers a new lens through which to interpret the relationship between childhood environments and adult outcomes.The contribution of this study is twofold. First, it advances a dynamic measurement strategy that captures the accumulation of neighborhood poverty exposure over the full childhood period, extending prior approaches that rely on single-year or short-window measures. Second, it provides descriptive evidence that aligns with and extends existing theoretical and empirical work on neighborhood effects, offering a foundation for future research that more directly tests causal mechanisms.By framing poverty as an extended exposure embedded in both family and place, this research underscores the importance of sustained, place-based interventions. Policies that reduce the duration of children’s exposure to high-poverty environments—rather than focusing solely on short-term changes—may be especially consequential for improving long-term economic mobility.

Author

• Isaiah Charles Alan Wright, University of Washington
  Presenting Author