Discussion Paper - No. 2175 - An Olympic opportunity

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake

A randomized natural experiment places families selected to live in the Olympic Village built for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, allowing an assessment of how improved neighbourhood conditions affect academic achievement. Students aged 12–17 who relocated and attended the new schools are compared with non-selected applicants from the same origin schools across Attica. Results show positive, gender-neutral, significant gains overall, with language-course improvements concentrated among previously low-performing students, consistent with a “freshstart” effect.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Housing need and policy context

Research design: randomized selection to the Olympic Village

Educational outcomes and identification strategy

Discussion Paper ISSN 2042-2695 No. 2175 April 2026 An Olympic opportunity Christos Genakos Eleni Kyrkopoulou Elias Papaioannou Abstract We use a unique natural experiment in which families were randomly selected to live in the Olympic Village, constructed for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, to assess the impact of improved neighbourhood conditions on academic achievement. Comparing 12–17-year-old students who relocated and attended the new schools with non-selected applicants from the same origin schools across Attica, we find a positive, gender-neutral, and significant effect of moving on overall performance. Educational gains, primarily in language courses, are concentrated among students who previously performed poorly, indicating a "freshstart" effect. Keywords: social experiment; housing; neighborhoods; neighbourhoods; peer effects; education JEL codes: H43, I18, I38, J38 This paper was produced as part of the XXXX Programme. The Centre for Economic Performance is financed by the Economic and Social Research Council. We would like to thank Manolis Galelianos, Yannis Ioannidis, Myrto Kalouptsidi, Costas Meghir, Philip Oreopoulos, Theodore Papageorgiou, Bruce Sacerdote, Nikos Vettas, Tommaso Valletti and seminar audiences at Cambridge, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Mannheim, Tor Vergata and conference audiences at CRETE, EARIE, EEA and IIOC for helpful comments and discussions. We would like to thank Ministry of Education in Greece the teachers and headmasters of all the schools that we contacted. We are grateful to Ioannis Polycarpou, Maria-Theano Tagaraki, and Anna Voganatsi for their excellent research assistantship. Genakos is grateful for funding received from the Athens University of Economics and Business and the Cambridge Judge Business School. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. All remaining errors are those of the authors alone. Christos Genakos, University of Cambridge, CEPR and Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics. Eleni Kyrkopoulou, Yale University, iCL, London School of Economics Hellenic Observatory and University of Piraeus. Elias Papaioannou, London Business School and CEPR. Published by Centre for Economic Performance London School of Economic and Political Science Houghton Street London WC2A 2AE All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing of the publisher nor be issued to the public or circulated in any form other than that in which it is published. Requests for permission to reproduce any article or part of the Working Paper should be sent to the editor atthe above address. 􀂔 C. Genakos, E. Kyrkopoulou and E. Papaioannou, submitted 2026. 1. Introduction Housing, a basic human need according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, is at the heart of the American Dream and the European Welfare State. The US federal government and US states spend dozens of billions annually on housing assistance, while EU governments spend even more on social housing programs, including rent and loan subsidies, tax breaks, and new construction, provided to low-and middle-income families on favourable terms. But demand for housing in cities has soared, and the associated rise in rental costs, coupled with modest homeownership among the younger generation, features prominently in the ongoing public discourse on the cost-of-living crisis, which has fuelled citizens’ resentment toward the political system.5 Calculations by professional bodies suggest a social housing gap of about 1 million houses in continental Europe, with social housing waiting lists swelling: in France alone, there are more than 2.5 million pending applications (Housing Europe, 2025) . In response to soaring costs and their evident political ramifications, the EU, its member states, and other advanced economies have made the constru

FAQs

How does the paper identify the impact of neighbourhood conditions on education?

It uses a unique natural experiment in which families were randomly selected to live in the Athens Olympic Village, then compares relocated students with non-selected applicants from the same origin schools.

What do the results show about academic performance?

Relocation to the new neighbourhood and attendance at new schools produce positive, gender-neutral, and significant improvements in overall performance.

Where are the educational gains most concentrated?

Gains are primarily concentrated in language courses and are strongest among students who previously performed poorly, indicating a “freshstart” effect.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jake