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The impact of minimum income on homelessness: Evidence from France

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  • Locks, Gedeão
  • Thuilliez, Josselin

Abstract

In France, childless adults younger than 25 face hard-to-meet eligibility conditions to enroll in the minimum income program. The restrictive requirements generate a “jump” in the number of recipients at ages around 25. We use a Regression Discontinuity (RD) design to assess the impact of the French minimum income program (RSA) on users of accommodation and meal distribution services. We find that the RSA benefit reduces the homelessness rate by 20% among young adults aged 22 to 27. This result is driven by new RSA recipients who have started paying partial rent to third parties, and the probability of becoming a regular tenant increases after age 26. We simulate the effects of lowering the program’s minimum age eligibility on the probability of being homeless. Our findings suggest that in programs directed at homeless individuals, around 60% of expenditures are offset by savings in social assistance costs to the homeless.

Suggested Citation

  • Locks, Gedeão & Thuilliez, Josselin, 2023. "The impact of minimum income on homelessness: Evidence from France," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:juecon:v:135:y:2023:i:c:s0094119023000165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jue.2023.103547
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Extreme poverty; Homeless; Regression discontinuity; France; Welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

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