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Making Room: The Economics of Homelessness
Mentally ill people turned out of institutions, crack-cocaine use on the rise, more poverty, public housing a as attempts to explain homelessness multiply so do the homeless―and we still don’t know why. The first full-scale economic analysis of homelessness, Making Room provides answers quite unlike those offered so far by sociologists and pundits. It is a story about markets, not about the bad habits or pathology of individuals.
One perplexing fact is that, though homelessness in the past occurred during economic depressions, the current wave started in the 1980s, a time of relative prosperity. As Brendan O’Flaherty points out, this trend has been accompanied by others just as rising rents for poor people and continued housing abandonment. These are among the many disconcerting facts that O’Flaherty collected and analyzed in order to account for the new homelessness. Focused on six cities (New York, Newark, Chicago, Toronto, London, and Hamburg), his studies also document the differing rates of homelessness in North America and Europe, and from one city to the next, as well as interesting changes in the composition of homeless populations. For the first time, too, a scholarly observer makes a useful distinction between the homeless people we encounter on the streets every day and those “officially” counted as homeless.
O’Flaherty shows that the conflicting observations begin to make sense when we see the new homelessness as a response to changes in the housing market, linked to a widening gap in the incomes of rich and poor. The resulting shrinkage in the size of the middle class has meant fewer hand-me-downs for the poor and higher rents for the low-quality housing that is available. O’Flaherty’s tightly argued theory, along with the wealth of new data he introduces, will put the study of homelessness on an entirely new plane. No future student or policymaker will be able to ignore the economic factors presented so convincingly in this plainspoken book.
One perplexing fact is that, though homelessness in the past occurred during economic depressions, the current wave started in the 1980s, a time of relative prosperity. As Brendan O’Flaherty points out, this trend has been accompanied by others just as rising rents for poor people and continued housing abandonment. These are among the many disconcerting facts that O’Flaherty collected and analyzed in order to account for the new homelessness. Focused on six cities (New York, Newark, Chicago, Toronto, London, and Hamburg), his studies also document the differing rates of homelessness in North America and Europe, and from one city to the next, as well as interesting changes in the composition of homeless populations. For the first time, too, a scholarly observer makes a useful distinction between the homeless people we encounter on the streets every day and those “officially” counted as homeless.
O’Flaherty shows that the conflicting observations begin to make sense when we see the new homelessness as a response to changes in the housing market, linked to a widening gap in the incomes of rich and poor. The resulting shrinkage in the size of the middle class has meant fewer hand-me-downs for the poor and higher rents for the low-quality housing that is available. O’Flaherty’s tightly argued theory, along with the wealth of new data he introduces, will put the study of homelessness on an entirely new plane. No future student or policymaker will be able to ignore the economic factors presented so convincingly in this plainspoken book.
- GenresSocial ScienceEconomics
364 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 9, 2018
Read this book*.
Very few books can change completely how you see a topic. Homelessness is an area where most of us badly need such a change of perspective, because it just isn't anything close to what it looks like, and yet it is unbelievably important.
To be fair, there are problems with this book. The most important of them, and the one Prof. O'Flaherty (with whom I have talked about this issue but not the book itself) would probably emphasize himself, is that it is old, and homelessness is something that changes rapidly over time. For this reason, if you can find a similar book that is more up to date, that might be a better choice (that's the * in the first line of this review). Another problem is that the details in the middle are a little hard to follow. O'Flaherty makes a convincing argument from economic theory and data, but because he is so precise and careful, and he discusses six cities that are very different from one another (which is why he chose them), it's easy to lose track of the details. Finally, there are parts where he uses terminology without explaining it-- some I understood because I'm an economics student myself, but some even I didn't understand.
Still, this book is brimming with insight, the kind of book where an offhand comment can shake things up for you entirely. Most importantly-- and this remains very true today-- it emphasizes what homelessness is and isn't. Panhandling and homelessness are different-- there are many housed panhandlers and plenty of homeless who do not panhandle; the homeless are not a good proxy for poverty; not all (though perhaps a majority of) homeless are substance abusers or mentally ill; and so forth. And he provides very convincing arguments for what did or did not cause the rise of homelessness in the 1980s, focusing on the housing market and income distribution but extensively referring to substance abuse, mental illness, criminal justice and other factors as well. O'Flaherty's writing is also incredibly sharp and poignant, particularly when he humanizes the homeless, emphasizes why we should care and talks about value judgments often made about them.
All in all, not a perfect book, and possibly out of date, but a quick read (if you can allow yourself to glide a little through some of the tables) on an extremely important topic.
Very few books can change completely how you see a topic. Homelessness is an area where most of us badly need such a change of perspective, because it just isn't anything close to what it looks like, and yet it is unbelievably important.
To be fair, there are problems with this book. The most important of them, and the one Prof. O'Flaherty (with whom I have talked about this issue but not the book itself) would probably emphasize himself, is that it is old, and homelessness is something that changes rapidly over time. For this reason, if you can find a similar book that is more up to date, that might be a better choice (that's the * in the first line of this review). Another problem is that the details in the middle are a little hard to follow. O'Flaherty makes a convincing argument from economic theory and data, but because he is so precise and careful, and he discusses six cities that are very different from one another (which is why he chose them), it's easy to lose track of the details. Finally, there are parts where he uses terminology without explaining it-- some I understood because I'm an economics student myself, but some even I didn't understand.
Still, this book is brimming with insight, the kind of book where an offhand comment can shake things up for you entirely. Most importantly-- and this remains very true today-- it emphasizes what homelessness is and isn't. Panhandling and homelessness are different-- there are many housed panhandlers and plenty of homeless who do not panhandle; the homeless are not a good proxy for poverty; not all (though perhaps a majority of) homeless are substance abusers or mentally ill; and so forth. And he provides very convincing arguments for what did or did not cause the rise of homelessness in the 1980s, focusing on the housing market and income distribution but extensively referring to substance abuse, mental illness, criminal justice and other factors as well. O'Flaherty's writing is also incredibly sharp and poignant, particularly when he humanizes the homeless, emphasizes why we should care and talks about value judgments often made about them.
All in all, not a perfect book, and possibly out of date, but a quick read (if you can allow yourself to glide a little through some of the tables) on an extremely important topic.
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June 28, 2008I also just got this one today, and it's also for my lit review for my project. I'm looking forward to this one a lot more though. Unfortunately, economic arguments tend to carry a lot more weight among policy makers than moral ones, so maybe this one will give me some good ammo. :(
Just got this one today. It's beginning of the lit collection for my research project. I've read some of Rossi's other works, and I'm not sure I'm gonna like this one. Also, it's a bit dated, but it'll give me some good background stuff.
Just got this one today. It's beginning of the lit collection for my research project. I've read some of Rossi's other works, and I'm not sure I'm gonna like this one. Also, it's a bit dated, but it'll give me some good background stuff.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews