| Abstract: | Housing allowances do not perform as well as other subsidy approaches along many important dimensions. Limiting allowances to the very poor guarantees failure of the program, as it is the very poor who are least able to find decent housing on the private market. Studies of the Section 8 Existing Housing program demonstrate the inadequacy of the housing stock to meet low-income households' shelter needs. And the various forms of housing discrimination further reduce access to vacant units. Finally, the reduction in subsidy levels proposed in the Housing Payment Certificate program, compared with the Section 8 program, makes the program's “shopper's incentive” illusory. The program likely will result in higher rents and will exacerbate the affordability problem it was designed to alleviate. |
