‘Neighbourhood Effects’:Can we measure them and does it matter?

Renewed interest in disadvantaged neighbourhoods is generating increasingresearch activity. Current work includes qualitative community studies andquantitative investigations of area effects on individual outcomes. This papercriticises the contribution of area effects research to date. Methodological anddata constraints mean that quantitative studies often operationalise a weakconception of neighbourhood that does not reflect the understanding gainedfrom qualitative work. These constraints present a barrier to testing specifictheories that might usefully inform policy, while exaggerated claims are madeabout the policy relevance of more generic work. The paper concludes that areaeffects should be accorded less significance in the broad debate on area-basedpolicy. Multi-disciplinary work is needed to develop studies that can influencethe design of specific programmes.[...]