Can Moves to Opportunity be Constructed?

• In Event: Can More Housing Supply Improve Outcomes for Vulnerable Communities? Mechanisms and Challenges

Abstract

Many low-income households face frictions in moving to opportunity-rich neighborhoods. We estimate tenant-level mobility impacts of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the largest and fastest-growing federal program financing the construction of affordable rental housing for low-income households. We construct a novel panel of address histories for applicants to LIHTC-funded housing by linking proprietary application data from a large private developer to administrative data. Within six months of application, applicants who successfully place into a LIHTC-funded unit reside in lower-quality neighborhoods compared to similar but unsuccessful applicants, and these effects tend to increase over time. In heterogeneity analyses, we find that aggregate effects are driven by moves to especially high-poverty areas where federal incentives promote LIHTC development.

Authors

• Henry Mason Downes, University of Notre Dame
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• George Wayne Zuo, RAND Corporation
  Presenting Author