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What do we know about housing choice vouchers?

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  • Ellen, Ingrid Gould

Abstract

The Housing Choice Voucher Program provides assistance to approximately 2.2 million households each year, making it the largest low-income housing subsidy program managed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This paper reviews what we know about the program. In brief, experimental research shows that vouchers help to reduce the rent burdens of low-income households, allow them to live in less crowded homes, and minimize the risk of homelessness. Research also shows, however, that the program has been far less successful in getting recipients to better neighborhoods and schools. And perhaps the greatest disappointment of the program is its limited reach. Families typically wait for years to receive a voucher, and only one in four households eligible for a voucher nationally receives any federal rental housing assistance. Another issue is that a significant share of households who receive vouchers never use them, in part because of the difficulty of finding willing landlords with acceptable units. Thus, as effective as the program is, there is still room for improvement.

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  • Ellen, Ingrid Gould, 2020. "What do we know about housing choice vouchers?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:80:y:2020:i:c:s0166046217302983
    DOI: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2018.07.003
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    1. Ingrid Gould Ellen & Michael C. Lens & Katherine O'Regan, 2012. "American murder mystery revisited: do housing voucher households cause crime?," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(4), pages 551-572, April.
    2. Fredrik Andersson & John C. Haltiwanger & Mark J. Kutzbach & Giordano Palloni & Henry O. Pollakowski & Daniel H. Weinberg, 2013. "Childhood Housing and Adult Earnings: A Between-Siblings Analysis of Housing Vouchers and Public Housing," Working Papers 13-48, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    3. Robert Collinson & Ingrid Gould Ellen & Jens Ludwig, 2015. "Low-Income Housing Policy," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 2, pages 59-126, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Amy Ellen Schwartz & Keren Mertens Horn & Ingrid Gould Ellen & Sarah A. Cordes, 2020. "Do Housing Vouchers Improve Academic Performance? Evidence from New York City," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(1), pages 131-158, January.
    5. Robert A. Moffitt, 2003. "Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number moff03-1, March.
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    8. Carlson, Deven & Haveman, Robert & Kaplan, Thomas & Wolfe, Barbara, 2012. "Long-term effects of public low-income housing vouchers on neighborhood quality and household composition," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(2), pages 101-120.
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    11. Ingrid Gould Ellen & Keren Mertens Horn & Amy Ellen Schwartz, 2016. "Why Don't Housing Choice Voucher Recipients Live Near Better Schools? Insights from Big Data," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(4), pages 884-905, September.
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    13. Michael D. Eriksen & Amanda Ross, 2015. "Housing Vouchers and the Price of Rental Housing," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 7(3), pages 154-176, August.
    14. Michelle Wood & Jennifer Turnham & Gregory Mills, 2008. "Housing affordability and family well‐being: Results from the housing voucher evaluation," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(2), pages 367-412, January.
    15. Brian A. Jacob & Jens Ludwig, 2012. "The Effects of Housing Assistance on Labor Supply: Evidence from a Voucher Lottery," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 272-304, February.
    16. Brian A. Jacob & Max Kapustin & Jens Ludwig, 2015. "The Impact of Housing Assistance on Child Outcomes: Evidence from a Randomized Housing Lottery," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(1), pages 465-506.
    17. Susin, Scott, 2002. "Rent vouchers and the price of low-income housing," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 109-152, January.
    18. Anna M Santiago & George C Galster & Peter Tatian, 2001. "Assessing the property value impacts of the dispersed subsidy housing program in Denver," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 65-88.
    19. Robert Haveman & Barbara Wolfe, 2012. "Long-Term Effects of Public Low-Income Housing Vouchers: Work, Neighborhood, Family Composition and Childcare Usage," CEPR Discussion Papers 667, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Lopez Garcia, Miguel-Angel, 2024. "Subsidios a la vivienda para los hogares de renta baja: un panorama," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 58, pages 33-69.
    3. Kole, Kyle, 2022. "Housing vouchers reduce residential crowding," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    4. Céline Grislain-Letrémy & Corentin Trevien, 2022. "The Long-Term Impact of Housing Subsidies on the Rental Sector: the French Example," Working papers 886, Banque de France.
    5. Ulrich B. Morawetz & H. Allen Klaiber, 2022. "Does housing policy impact income sorting near urban amenities? Evidence from Vienna, Austria," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 69(2), pages 411-454, October.
    6. Kuzey Yılmaz & Muharrem Yeşilırmak, 2023. "Access to transportation, residential segregation, and economic opportunity," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(1), pages 103-127, January.
    7. Li Shang & Xiaoling Zhang & Decai Tang & Xiaoxue Ma & Chunfeng Lu, 2023. "The Impact of Housing Support Expenditure on Urban Residents’ Consumption—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-24, June.

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