A new study by MIT and University of Cincinnati economists examines how Asian immigrants on non-permanent visas (2008–2019) affect US housing prices and K-12 education quality. Using instrumental variable econometrics and excluding counties with historically large Asian communities, researchers found that 30–40% of home value increases in areas where Asian immigrant buyers have school-age children correlates with improved standardized test scores across all children in those counties. The findings suggest the price effect is driven not just by demand but by genuine improvements in local education quality, benefiting children of all backgrounds.
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