Life Shocks and Homelessness

Marah Curtis, Hope Corman, Kelly Noonan and Nancy Reichman
Additional contact information
Marah Curtis: Boston University
Hope Corman: Rider University and National Bureau of Economic Research
Kelly Noonan: Rider University and National Bureau of Economic Research
Nancy Reichman: University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

No 1374, Working Papers from Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing.

Abstract: We exploit an exogenous health shock the birth of a child with a severe health condition to investigate the causal effect of a life shock on homelessness. Using survey data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study that have been augmented with information from hospital medical records, we find that the health shock increases the likelihood of homelessness three years later, particularly in cities with high housing costs. Homelessness is defined using both a traditional measure and a more contemporary measure that includes residential instability and doubling up without paying rent. The findings are consistent with the economic theory of homelessness, which posits that homelessness results from a conjunction of adverse circumstances in which housing markets and individual characteristics collide. They also add to a growing body of evidence that housing markets are an important contributor to homelessness and suggest that homelessness is a problem not easily addressed by existing public support programs.

Keywords: child health; housing; homelessness; housing markets; families (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D19 H31 I00 J12 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-02
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