Raj Chetty

We studied more than a million families, followed them over decades, and looked at how their own outcomes, their kids' outcomes changed over time.

Adults did not benefit that much from living in an area that was revitalized.

However, very importantly, kids benefited substantially.

So if you grew up in the exact same place after it was revitalized through this program, in a mixed income neighborhood, with additional services, basically a better environment in many different ways,

you ended up earning about 50% more if you grew up from birth in one of these places, 50% more than if you had grown up in the exact same place pre-revitalization.

So that's an enormous change in kids' outcomes.

Yeah.

So three different mechanisms through which we think connections matter for kids' outcomes.

They don't have clear data on this, but Raj has some theories.

Theory number one is about how people get jobs.

If you're connected to somebody who's got a good job at a high-paying firm, you're more likely to get that job.

And so cross-class interaction just directly affects the internships you get, the career you might end up pursuing.

You get information from people who are exposed to different things.

If you live near somebody whose parents went to a college, you might be more likely to think about applying to that college.

You've at least heard of it.

I think people's aspirations and what they try to achieve themselves are greatly shaped by who they're around, especially as they grow up.

I can say that from my own personal experience.

I grew up in a family of academics, certainly greatly influenced by that in my own career choices.

And I think, conversely, kids who have never had exposure to science, never had exposure to people pursuing higher education, pursuing business, and so on, may just not see themselves.

They may not even know where to start in terms of pursuing those opportunities.