Does housing assistance perversely affect self-sufficiency? A review essay

Author: Shroder M.

Source: Journal of Housing Economics, Volume 11, Number 4, December 2002 , pp. 381-417(37)

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Abstract:

This essay reviews the evidence on indirect effects of housing assistance in the US on the self-sufficiency of assisted families. The primary issue is whether housing assistance perversely undermines the upward mobility of families. I find the following: Housing assistance is not persuasively associated with any effect on employment. Evidence on human capital accumulation remains conflicting and fragmentary. However, a strong association with single-adult household formation exists. The project-basing of assistance distorts the neighborhood choice of at least 9 or 15% of households in high-poverty housing projects, depending on the counterfactual; early experimental results suggest significant adverse consequences for the lives of boys.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1051-1377(02)00128-6

Publication date: 2002-12-01