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ECONOMIC RESOURCES OF THE HOMELESS: EVIDENCE FROM LOS ANGELES
Author(s) -
SCHOENI ROBERT F.,
KOEGEL PAUL
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
contemporary economic policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.454
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1465-7287
pISSN - 1074-3529
DOI - 10.1111/j.1465-7287.1998.tb00520.x
Subject(s) - government (linguistics) , family member , cash , public economics , income support , variety (cybernetics) , database transaction , transaction cost , face (sociological concept) , cash transfers , business , demographic economics , economics , finance , sociology , medicine , social science , philosophy , linguistics , family medicine , artificial intelligence , computer science , macroeconomics , programming language
This paper examines the economic resources of homeless adults using a unique data set from Los Angeles. The homeless rely on a variety of sources for income; the two most common sources are the government and the family. Over 58% received government transfers in the 30 days prior to the interview, while one‐third had received cash assistance from a family member or friend. Familial transfers in the form of shared housing and meals also are important. While familial transfers buffer declines in income among the homeless, private support networks are not pervasive enough to overcome the severe difficulties the homeless face. Moreover, it is unclear why such a high share of the homeless do not participate in government assistance programs, although the evidence suggests that transaction costs are likely to be an important factor.