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Reforming Housing Assistance

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Collinson
  • Ingrid Gould Ellen
  • Jens Ludwig

Abstract

This article reviews current federal housing assistance policies and briefly summarizes research evidence about the efficacy of the different programs. We identify three key challenges that these programs face in meeting their stated objectives and suggest strategies for addressing them. The first challenge is the large variation in market conditions across the country, which makes it difficult to design assistance programs that are universally appropriate. We call for adjusting the type of assistance across markets, allowing for a greater match between subsidies and needs. The second set of challenges concerns subsidy generosity, structure, and targeting. The current system provides large subsidies to a small number of low-income households while providing nothing to most. Assuming limited government resources, we call for exploring the impact of more modest or time-limited subsidies to serve more people with more attention to targeting. The third challenge is the relatively poor location of housing in current assistance programs. We suggest strategies to help more assisted families reach high-opportunity areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Collinson & Ingrid Gould Ellen & Jens Ludwig, 2019. "Reforming Housing Assistance," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 686(1), pages 250-285, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:686:y:2019:i:1:p:250-285
    DOI: 10.1177/0002716219877801
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Robert A. Moffitt & James P. Ziliak, 2020. "COVID‐19 and the US Safety Net," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(3), pages 515-548, September.
    3. Hector Blanco & Jaehee Song, 2025. "Discrimination Against Housing Vouchers: Evidence from Online Rental Listings," CESifo Working Paper Series 11920, CESifo.
    4. Newman, Sandra & Holupka, C. Scott, 2025. "Assisted housing and healthy child development," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Cody Cook & Pearl Z. Li & Ariel J. Binder, 2023. "Where to Build Affordable Housing? Evaluating the Tradeoffs of Location," Working Papers 23-62, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Jeffrey Clemens & Stan Veuger, 2024. "Intergovernmental Grants and Policy Competition: Concepts, Institutions, and Evidence," NBER Chapters, in: Policy Responses to Tax Competition, pages 273-325, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Javiera Selman, 2025. "Rental Assistance in Middle-Income Countries:Quasi-experimental Evidence from Chile," Working Papers wp563, University of Chile, Department of Economics.
    8. Dykstra, Holly & Fernández Guerrico, Sofía, 2026. "Offsetting the Earnings Disincentive in Public Housing: Evidence from a Behaviorally Informed Field Intervention," IZA Discussion Papers 18483, IZA Network @ LISER.
    9. Buchholz, Maximilian & Kemeny, Tom & Randolph, Gregory F. & Storper, Michael, 2026. "Inequality, not regulation, drives America's housing affordability crisis," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 131070, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Corinth, Kevin & Irvine, Amelia, 2023. "JUE Insight: The Effect of Relaxing Local Housing Market Regulations on Federal Rental Assistance Programs," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).

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