EC970: The Economics of Housing and Homelessness

Overview (Class Notes)

We begin the course by covering the development of major institutions in the world of housing such as the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Government Sponsored Enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We explore how these institutions, together with mortgage brokers, lenders, and investors support the functioning of the housing market.

We then turn our attention to the policies related specifically the low-income housing. We cover papers on public housing, section 8 vouchers, and low-income housing tax credits. We read, for instance, Raj Chetty’s paper Moving to Opportunities which highlight the importance of high opportunity neighborhoods in fostering intergenerational mobility.

In addition to Economic papers, we also read books like Mathew Desmond’s Evicted, and Alexander Potlikoff’s Waiting for Gatreaux, which captures the instability of low-income housing markets and the legislative challenges associated with reform respectively.

We conclude the semester by focusing on those experiencing homelessness, reading about eviction prevention, the importance of housing navigation, and housing first policies. In the final classes, we read Tracy Kidder’s book Rough Sleepers which traces the history of Healthcare for the Homelessness right here in Boston.

The day to day functioning of the course consists of discussion on books and papers as well as on current topics like converting office buildings to rental apartments. We also work through the details of econometrics methods covering OLS, Diff-in-Diff, and IV. Throughout the semester, students work on a research project of their choosing. Past examples include studying the intersection of homelessness and addiction, and the exploring the inefficiencies in the mortgage securitization markets.