Housing Vouchers, Income Shocks and Crime: Evidence from a Lottery

Jillian Carr and Vijetha Koppa

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2020, vol. 177, issue C, 475-493

Abstract: Employing exogenous variation in randomized wait-list positions assigned using a lottery, we identify the causal effects of Section 8 housing vouchers on arrests of adult household heads. Based on administrative records from Houston, we find that voucher receipt has no effect on the likelihood of arrest. Even among the groups with the highest propensities for crime, the vouchers have no impact. Income effects for these adults are particularly large relative to neighborhood effects, leading us to believe that this large income shock does little to alleviate financial pressures that could lead to crime.

Keywords: Housing Vouchers; Section 8; Crime; Neighborhood Effects; Income Shocks (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I38 K42 R23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:177:y:2020:i:c:p:475-493

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2020.05.021

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