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Economic Resources Of The Homeless: Evidence From Los Angeles

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  • ROBERT F. SCHOENI
  • PAUL KOEGEL

Abstract

This paper examines the economic resources of homeless adults using a unique data set from Los Angeles. The homeless rely on a variety of sources for income; the two most common sources are the government and the family. Over 58% received government transfers in the 30 days prior to the interview, while one‐third had received cash assistance from a family member or friend. Familial transfers in the form of shared housing and meals also are important. While familial transfers buffer declines in income among the homeless, private support networks are not pervasive enough to overcome the severe difficulties the homeless face. Moreover, it is unclear why such a high share of the homeless do not participate in government assistance programs, although the evidence suggests that transaction costs are likely to be an important factor.

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  • Robert F. Schoeni & Paul Koegel, 1998. "Economic Resources Of The Homeless: Evidence From Los Angeles," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 16(3), pages 295-308, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:16:y:1998:i:3:p:295-308
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-7287.1998.tb00520.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Sylvain Chareyron, 2016. "Le non-recours aux aides sociales sous conditions de ressources," Erudite Ph.D Dissertations, Erudite, number ph16-01 edited by Yannick L'Horty & François Legendre.
    2. Sylvain Chareyron & Patrick Domingues, 2018. "Take‐Up of Social Assistance Benefits: The Case of the French Homeless," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 64(1), pages 170-191, March.
    3. Gundersen, Craig & Weinreb, Linda & Wehler, Cheryl & Hosmer, David, 2003. "Homelessness and food insecurity," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 250-272, September.
    4. Sylvain Chareyron & Patrick Domingues, 2015. "Take-up of Social Assistance Benefits: The case of Homeless," TEPP Working Paper 2015-07, TEPP.
    5. Shinichiro Iwata & Koji Karato, 2007. "Homeless Networks: Testing Peer and Homed Networks Against Location Choice," CIRJE F-Series CIRJE-F-522, CIRJE, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo.
    6. Sylvain Chareyron, 2015. "Take-up of social assistance benefits: The case of homeless Take-up of Social Assistance Benefits: The Case of Homeless," Working Papers hal-01292107, HAL.

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