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Housing Precarity & the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts of Utility Disconnection and Eviction Moratoria on Infections and Deaths Across US Counties

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  • Kay Jowers
  • Christopher Timmins
  • Nrupen Bhavsar
  • Qihui Hu
  • Julia Marshall

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the adoption of a number of policies that aim to reduce the spread of the disease by promoting housing stability. Housing precarity, which includes both the risk of eviction and utility disconnections or shut-offs, reduces a person’s ability to abide by social distancing orders and comply with hygiene recommendations. Our analysis quantifies the impact of these various economic policies on COVID-19 infection and death rates using panel regression techniques to control for a variety of potential confounders. We find that policies that limit evictions are found to reduce COVID-19 infections by 3.8% and reduce deaths by 11%. Moratoria on utility disconnections reduce COVID-19 infections by 4.4% and mortality rates by 7.4%. Had such policies been in place across all counties (i.e., adopted as federal policy) from early March 2020 through the end of November 2020, our estimated counterfactuals show that policies that limit evictions could have reduced COVID-19 infections by 14.2% and deaths by 40.7%. For moratoria on utility disconnections, COVID-19 infections rates could have been reduced by 8.7% and deaths by 14.8%. Housing precarity policies that prevent eviction and utility disconnections have been effective mechanisms for decreasing both COVID-19 infections and deaths.

Suggested Citation

  • Kay Jowers & Christopher Timmins & Nrupen Bhavsar & Qihui Hu & Julia Marshall, 2021. "Housing Precarity & the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts of Utility Disconnection and Eviction Moratoria on Infections and Deaths Across US Counties," NBER Working Papers 28394, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28394
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    Cited by:

    1. Cicala, Steve, 2021. "The incidence of extreme economic stress: Evidence from utility disconnections," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    2. Leishman, Chris & Aminpour, Fatemeh & Baker, Emma & Beer, Andrew & Crowe, Adam & Goodall, Zoë & Horton, Ella & Jacobs, Keith & Lester, Laurence & Maclennan, Duncan, 2022. "Australia’s COVID-19 pandemic housing policy responses," SocArXiv yef47, Center for Open Science.
    3. Julia Hatamyar & Christopher F. Parmeter, 2023. "Local Eviction Moratoria and the Spread of COVID-19," Papers 2307.00251, arXiv.org.
    4. Stephen Malpezzi, 2023. "Housing affordability and responses during times of stress: A preliminary look during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(1), pages 9-40, January.
    5. Jamila Michener, 2022. "Race, power, and policy: understanding state anti-eviction policies during COVID-19 [Pandemic politics: Timing state-level social distancing responses to COVID-19]," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 41(2), pages 231-246.
    6. Lodermeier, Alison, 2024. "Credit access and housing insecurity: Evidence from winter utility shutoff protections," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    7. Andrea Flores & George-Levi Gayle, 2022. "Disparities in COVID-19’s Impact on Employment and Household Consumption," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, vol. 104(4), pages 224-265, October.
    8. Yung Chun & Stephen Roll & Selina Miller & Hedwig Lee & Savannah Larimore & Michal Grinstein-Weiss, 2023. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Housing Instability During the COVID-19 Pandemic: the Role of Assets and Income Shocks," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 6(2), pages 63-81, June.
    9. Mildred E Warner & Paige M Kelly & Xue Zhang, 2023. "Challenging austerity under the COVID-19 state," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 16(1), pages 197-209.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy
    • R5 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis

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