Housing Insecurity and Homelessness: Evidence from the United Kingdom
利用2011年英国削减低收入家庭租金补贴造成的准外生冲击，研究发现租金可负担性下降显著增加了财务困境、驱逐、财产犯罪、临时住房安排、法定无家可归和露宿街头，且财政节省有限并转移至地方政府。
Abstract Homelessness and precarious living conditions are on the rise across much of the Western world. This paper exploits quasi-exogenous variation in the affordability of rents due to a cut in rent subsidies for low-income households in the United Kingdom in April 2011. Using comprehensive district-level administrative data, we show that the affordability shock caused a significant increase in financial distress, evictions, property crimes, insecure temporary housing arrangements, statutory homelessness, and actual rough sleeping. The most notable rise in statutory homelessness is driven by families with children, lone parents, individuals with existing health conditions, and as a result of having been evicted. We estimate that the fiscal savings were low and shifted toward the local administration: Savings by the central government were partially offset by an increase in council spending to meet statutory obligations for homelessness.