Patrick Power
Economics PhD @ Boston University
Vivalt Et al. (2024)
The economics of Housing & Homelessness
"For a policymaker interested in cash transfers, the main benefits would flow through the increased choice they offer participants in how to spend their time and invest for the future, even if relatively few use the opportunity for any one given pursuit such as as obtaining a post-secondary degree or starting a business"
Overview
Observations
- "Community-level changes in the parents’ generation—which can be measured using a variety of parental outcomes—are highly correlated with their children’s outcomes in adulthood"
Insight
- "These results demonstrate that one can potentially increase intergenerational mobility substantially through changes in childhood environments within a few years, even without changing slower-moving factors such as housing stocks or access to transportation."
Research Question(s)
Motivation
Cash
Address Liquidity Constraints
Engage in Non-Formal Labor Market Work
Search Longer For Jobs
Entrepreneurship
Elderly Family Care
Schooling
Do you Agree with this Diagram?
Diagram
The Sample
The Sample
- Ages 21-40
- Household Income below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level
- No family member received SSI or SSDI
Sample Completed Initial Survey
Stratified Randomization
3 Years of Financial Support
No Financial Support
\$50
\$1K
Stratified Randomization
Oct 2019-Oct 2020
Nov 2020
Target Smart
Meta
Food Stamps App
Analysis
Y_i = \alpha + \beta \textrm{Treated}_i + \gamma X_i + \varepsilon_i
Lasso Selected Controls
What draws your attention?
What draws your attention?
What draws your attention?
Applied Econometrics
"Our preferred specification pools results across time periods, leveraging the extra power that multiple measures gives us"
Copy of Copy of Housing Choice Vouchers
By Patrick Power
