Prof. Byrne Leads Compelling New Study Linking Income Inequality and Homelessness
Offering one of the most robust analyses to date of the relationship between rising income inequality and rising rates of homelessness, BUSSW Assistant Professor Dr. Thomas Byrne’s new report, “A Rising Tide Drowns Unstable Boats: How Inequality Creates Homelessness,” was published in the most recent issue of “The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (Volume 693, 2021),” which is focused on the dynamics of homelessness.
“Income inequality has been increasing for decades in the United States and is likely to deepen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said lead author Byrne. “The link between income inequality and homelessness has been theorized in the past, and this study now proves it with rigorous data.” Byrne’s co-authors include Associate Professor Ben Henwood, PhD, from the University of Southern California and Anthony Orlando, PhD, from Cal Poly Pomona.
The researchers measured changes in income inequality, homelessness, renter cost burden and home value data in 239 communities across the United States from 2007 to 2018. Their analysis shows a link between rising rates of local income inequality and homelessness and “provides yet another brick in the wall of the argument that we should pursue aggressive policy responses to reverse decades-long trends in income inequality in the United States.” They recommend broader policy efforts to address income inequality and homelessness, not just in cities like Los Angeles and New York, where levels of inequality are already high, but also in communities like Amarillo, Texas, Burlington, Vt. or Sacramento, Calif., where income inequality has been increasing more quickly.
“These findings point to the importance of local, as distinct from national, inequality,” the report authors note. “Homelessness is less associated with the divergence between high-priced and low-priced cities than it is with the divergence between residents of the same city. Hopefully, this conclusion inspires future research to explore why some cities have higher levels and growth rates of inequality and what targeted policies can reverse these local trajectories, rather than relying on federal policies that are poorly attuned to the needs of 20 different local housing markets.”