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Housing Vouchers, Income Shocks and Crime: Evidence from a Lottery

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  • Carr, Jillian B.
  • Koppa, Vijetha

Abstract

Employing exogenous variation in randomized wait-list positions assigned using a lottery, we identify the causal effects of Section 8 housing vouchers on arrests of adult household heads. Based on administrative records from Houston, we find that voucher receipt has no effect on the likelihood of arrest. Even among the groups with the highest propensities for crime, the vouchers have no impact. Income effects for these adults are particularly large relative to neighborhood effects, leading us to believe that this large income shock does little to alleviate financial pressures that could lead to crime.

Suggested Citation

  • Carr, Jillian B. & Koppa, Vijetha, 2020. "Housing Vouchers, Income Shocks and Crime: Evidence from a Lottery," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 475-493.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:177:y:2020:i:c:p:475-493
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2020.05.021
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    Cited by:

    1. Christian A. L. Hilber & Olivier Schoni, 2022. "Housing policy and affordable housing," CEP Occasional Papers 56, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Gavrilova, Evelina, 2021. "Females in Crime," MPRA Paper 105891, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Qiwei He & Scott Barkowski, 2020. "The effect of health insurance on crime: Evidence from the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 261-277, March.
    4. Jacob Vogler, 2020. "Access to Healthcare and Criminal Behavior: Evidence from the ACA Medicaid Expansions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(4), pages 1166-1213, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Housing Vouchers; Section 8; Crime; Neighborhood Effects; Income Shocks;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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