The Impact of Massachusetts' Chapter 40B on Affordable Housing Beneficiaries: Evidence from Housing Lotteries

Policies that facilitate the relocation of low-income households to high-opportunity areas – areas with more favorable economic, educational, and health outcomes – can reduce inequities in these outcomes. However, demand-side housing policies, such as vouchers, face supply-side barriers, such as the scarcity of affordable united and discrimination against families using vouchers. Economists Hector Blanco Fernandez and David Cutler and health policy scholar Noémie Sportiche will investigate the impact of moving low- and moderate-income households to affordable units developed as part of Massachusetts Chapter 40B, a supply-side policy, on housing stability, neighborhood and health outcomes, and racial disparities in these outcomes. They will analyze data from the Massachusetts All-Payer Claims Database and Infutor Data Solutions for their study.