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Scaling of Small-Area Fair Market Rents: Evidence on Neighborhood Choices of Voucher Recipients
Michael D. Eriksen, Eunjee Kwon, Guoyang Yang. Not indexed, 2025
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
We examine the scaling of Small Area Fair Market Rents (SAFMRs) of Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program in 2018. First used in the 2011 Dallas pilot, SAFMRs set the maximum voucher subsidy at the ZIP Codes level instead of previous metropolitan level to deconcentrate clustering in high-poverty areas. Using 2015-2019 administrative data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), we find that SAFMRs led voucher recipients to relocate to lower-poverty neighborhoods; however, relative to the Dallas pilot, effects attenuate by more than half. This "voltage drop" appears driven by differences in baseline rental market conditions and racial segregation across metropolitan areas, generating substantial heterogeneity in policy effectiveness. Moreover, White households benefited about three times more than Black households, highlighting how race-neutral payment-standard reforms can yield unintentional consequences without complementary supports. These results underscore the importance of accounting for implementation environments when scaling housing policy.
Key findings
- These results underscore the importance of accounting for implementation environments when scaling housing policy.
Why it matters
This study examined how a housing voucher policy that sets subsidies at the ZIP code level affected where recipients moved. It provides no information on treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 16/100
Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. It scored 16 on the same rubric, which is below the 16 cap we apply to non-peer-reviewed sources. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on impact for its field and year and senior author's track record, so those were left out: it earned 14 of the 90 points we could judge it on, which is 16 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 2 / 10 | Tier 4 — not a peer-reviewed journal (Not indexed) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Not a journal article, so the journal's record does not count |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 4 / 10 | Preprint — not yet peer-reviewed. Hosted on a preprint server. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 0 / 7 | Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Guoyang Yang holds only 3 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Purdue University West Lafayette: institution h-index 983 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 14 / 90 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 14 of the 90 points we could judge it on is 16 out of 100. |
| Total | 16 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. This record has no journal, so the citation leaves it out. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Eriksen, M. D., Kwon, E., & Yang, G. (2025). Scaling of Small-Area Fair Market Rents: Evidence on Neighborhood Choices of Voucher Recipients. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5468847
Vancouver
Eriksen MD, Kwon E, Yang G. Scaling of Small-Area Fair Market Rents: Evidence on Neighborhood Choices of Voucher Recipients. 2025. doi:10.2139/ssrn.5468847.
BibTeX
@article{eriksen2025-9f97b511,
author = {Eriksen, Michael D. and Kwon, Eunjee and Yang, Guoyang},
title = {{Scaling of Small-Area Fair Market Rents: Evidence on Neighborhood Choices of Voucher Recipients}},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.2139/ssrn.5468847},
url = {https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5468847}
}
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