Gentrification represents a striking reversal of decline in many US cities, yet it
is controversial because of its perceived negative consequences for original neighborhood
residents. In this paper, we use new longitudinal census microdata to provide
the first causal evidence of how gentrification affects a broad set of outcomes for
incumbent adults and children. Gentrification modestly increases out-migration,
though movers are not made observably worse off and aggregate neighborhood
change is driven primarily by changes to in-migration. At the same time, many
original resident adults stay and benefit from declining poverty exposure and rising
house values. Children benefit from increased ...
