Credit access and housing insecurity: Evidence from winter utility shutoff protections
中文摘要
56%的城市租户面临不同程度的住房不安全。本文探讨信贷可得性或信贷缺失作为促成因素所发挥的作用。为此，我研究了以冬季供暖停供保护形式向家庭提供的一种临时信贷额度。这些保护措施允许家庭推迟支付冬季能源账单，而不必承担供暖被中断的风险。我采用三重差分（DDD）方法，利用各州停供保护日期以及人口普查区平均能源负担的差异进行识别。我估计，临时扩大信贷可得性使能源负担较高的人口普查区的驱逐立案率降低了4%。我提供的提示性证据表明，在临时信贷到期后，驱逐立案并未激增，这意味着从全年看，临时信贷可得性对立案数量具有净负效应。我进一步表明，租金支付增加3%解释了驱逐立案的下降，这与信贷可得性使租户能够平滑消费的解释一致。
Abstract
Fifty-six percent of urban renters face some level of housing insecurity. I explore the role of credit access, or lack thereof, as a contributing factor. To do so, I study a temporary line of credit extended to households in the form of protection from heat shutoffs during the winter. These protections allow households to delay winter energy payments without risk of losing their heat. I adopt a triple difference-in-differences (DDD) approach, leveraging variation in states’ shutoff protection dates and census tracts’ average energy burdens. I estimate that the temporary extension of credit reduces the eviction filing rate by 4% in census tracts with high energy burdens. I provide suggestive evidence that eviction filings do not spike after the temporary credit access ends, implying a net negative effect of temporary credit access on filings over the entire year. I further demonstrate that a 3% increase in rental payments explains the decline in eviction filings, which is consistent with access to credit allowing renters to smooth consumption.