Working Paper: NBER ID: w30838
Authors: Milena Almagro; Eric Chyn; Bryan A. Stuart
Abstract: This paper studies one of the largest spatially targeted redevelopment efforts implemented in the United States: public housing demolitions sponsored by the HOPE VI program. Focusing on Chicago, we study welfare and racial disparities in the impacts of demolitions using a structural model that features a rich set of equilibrium responses. Our results indicate that demolitions had notably heterogeneous effects where welfare decreased for low-income minority households and increased for White households. Counterfactual simulations explore how housing policy mitigates negative effects of demolitions and suggest that increased public housing site redevelopment is the most effective policy for reducing racial inequality.
Keywords: Urban Renewal; Public Housing; Inequality; Demolitions; HOPE VI
JEL Codes: I31; R23; R28
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Increased public housing site redevelopment (R31) | reduction in racial inequality (I24) |
| Increased housing supply elasticity (R31) | lower price increases (P22) |
| Lower price increases (E31) | improved overall welfare (I30) |
| Public housing demolitions (R28) | changes in demographic composition (J11) |
| Public housing demolitions (R28) | changes in economic conditions (E66) |
| Public housing demolitions (R28) | increase in average rent in neighborhoods (R21) |
| No demolitions (Y70) | increase in average rent in neighborhoods (R21) |
| Public housing demolitions (R28) | decrease in welfare for low-income minority households (I39) |
| Public housing demolitions (R28) | increase in welfare for non-poor white households (I39) |