In April 2018, LEO research faculty, David Phillips, presented his study on "Housing Vouchers and Neighborhood Opportunity" at the Lab @ DC. The lab consists of social scientists working in District Mayor Bowser's office in DC with the goal of testing and improving policies in order to make decisions to positively improve the community, an objective that is consistent with LEO’s goal to reduce poverty and improve lives through evidence-based programs and policies. David’s talk was directed to the Lab @ DC’s lab staff that work on housing programs, as well as other key government officials. This collaboration between LEO and the Lab @ DC is just one example LEO’s efforts to work with local governments across the United States to share key findings that can help improve programs and reduce poverty.
David's research paper is co-authored by Dionissi Aliprantis and Hal Martin, both from the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank. They focus on how landlords respond to tenants who use subsidized housing vouchers. The researchers have been testing whether moving to vouchers that pay closer to neighborhood average market rents can make landlords more receptive to accepting tenants paying by voucher.
Click here to read more about the Lab @ DC.