Homicides near schools affect students’ educational outcomes says new study

Homicides near schools negatively impact on the educational attainment of children, a new study in the Journal of Labor Economics reports. During this unique study, researchers from the University of Birmingham and University of Surrey investigated if exposure to homicides had an impact on the educational outcomes of children in schools close by. According to statistics from the World Bank, Brazil has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. The rate of homicides in the country is more than 29 per 100,000 people, which is approximately 6 times the US rate and 29 times the UK rate. To estimate the effect of these homicides on educational outcomes, researchers used georeferenced data from 2,470 homicides in Sao Paulo and linked these to nearby schools, comparing test scores, attendance of students and school progression. Researchers found that when a homicide occurred within the close vicinity of a school (25 metre radius), children's math test scores decreased by 5 per cent of a standard deviation and similar-sized effects on Portuguese language test scores were found. This effect is of a similar magnitude to reducing the quality of teachers by one standard deviation.