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Housing Subsidies and Work Incentives

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  • Shroder, Mark

Abstract

Low-income housing assistance is part of the welfare state of all developed countries. The rest of the welfare state may cause work disincentives. In theory, housing assistance may also do so, but those disincentives may be blunted by its in-kind character and the way it is rationed. Rationing and selection make the estimation difficult; the most rigorous evidence from the United States suggests a loss of 10 to 20 cents in earnings per dollar of assistance. Less rigorous evidence from Australia suggests negative impacts in public housing but not housing benefit, while in Scandinavia researchers have as yet found no long-term duration of dependency.

Suggested Citation

  • Shroder, Mark, 2010. "Housing Subsidies and Work Incentives," MPRA Paper 26019, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:26019
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    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/26019/1/MPRA_paper_26019.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Blackorby, Charles & Donaldson, David, 1988. "Cash versus Kind, Self-selection, and Efficient Transfers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(4), pages 691-700, September.
    2. Chen, Jie, 2006. "The Dynamics of Housing Allowance Claims in Sweden: A discrete-time hazard analysis," Working Paper Series 2006:1, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    3. Gary Burtless, 1986. "The work response to a guaranteed income: a survey of experimental evidence," Conference Series ; [Proceedings], Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, vol. 30, pages 22-59.
    4. Jie Chen, 2006. "The Dynamics of Housing Allowance Claims in Sweden: A Discrete Time-Hazard Analysis," International Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1-29.
    5. Shroder, Mark, 2002. "Does housing assistance perversely affect self-sufficiency? A review essay," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 381-417, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Barbara A. Haley & Aref N. Dajani, 2015. "Addicted to Government? The Impact of Housing Assistance on Program Participation of Welfare Recipients," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 7(4), pages 307-335, December.
    2. Borbely, Daniel, 2022. "The impact of housing subsidy cuts on the labour market outcomes of claimants: Evidence from England," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Housing Subsidies; Housing Assistance; Work Disincentives; Rationing; Selection; Comparative International;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • R29 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Other

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