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NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
ROBERT F. WAGNER GRADUATE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE
Syllabus
URPL--GP.4638
Housing and Community Development Policy
Spring 2017
Thursdays 6:45-8:25pm (March 23 to May 4)
Waverly Building, Room 366
Note: assignments for Class 1 are due by midnight, Tuesday, March 21
Professor Mark A. Willis
212-998-6670
This course explores a range of issues relating to U.S. housing and community development policy, including the role housing plays in building and strengthening neighborhoods and communities. Topics to be covered are the structure of housing and related financial markets; the economic and social bases for government to intervene in these markets; and the relative merits and demerits of the different tools available to intervene in these markets including: subsidization, both directly and through the tax system; regulation of financial institutions, e.g. the Community Reinvestment Act; FHA/Ginnie Mae and the government sponsored enterprises of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; zoning; and regulation of lands and rents.
Reading Materials:
There is one required text and one optional text for the course. The former is available at the NYU Professional Bookstore and both are on reserve at Bobst Library. Also on reserve is O’Sullivan, Arthur. 2011, Urban Economics, 8th edition, McGraw-Hill: United States. In addition, there are required and optional readings for each class. The other required readings are available online, at NYU Classes (where indicated), or through NYU’s electronic journal databases.
Required text: Schwartz, Alex F., third edition 2015. Housing Policy in the United States, New York: Routledge.
Optional text (parts of Chapter 2 are required reading and multiple copies of that chapter are on Reserve): Green, Richard K. and Stephen Malpezzi. 2003. A Primer on U.S. Housing Markets and Housing Policy. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Press.
Course Requirements and Grades (determined by the three components described below):
Weekly Assignments (Please note: the assignments for Class 1 are due by midnight of Tuesday, March 22nd, two days before the first class; subsequent weekly assignments are also due by midnight two days before the class meets.):
· Read all "Required" materials.
· Submit a bullet for each article/chapter highlighting something you found new and interesting and why.
· For one of the required readings (your choice), research a concept/fact/issue raised in that reading and submit a synthesis of what you have learned in no more than 250 words.
o The research should involve at least two other sources (which can include any of the “Optional” readings but not include the other required readings) and those sources should be cited (cite only major sources and in no case list more than five—the citations do not count toward the 250 word limit).
o The synthesis can take a number of forms. For example, it can lay out the differences and similarities across the spectrum of opinions on a particular topic, it can question or support the original author’s point of view, or it can otherwise illuminate the concept/fact/issue. What matters is that you communicate what makes the concept/fact/issue relevant/interesting and what your research revealed about its validity, complexity, etc.
These summaries and bullet points are due by midnight Tuesday evening, two days before each class. Post the assignments on this class’s site at NYU Classes under Forums. Each week of class has a separate forum where you can list your name under “Topic Title” and then put your assignment in the “Description” section. Include your name and the class number in the description section or on any attachment. When posting the “bullets,” list the author's name followed by a colon and then your bullet point. For the research summary, before starting the text, list the author’s name of the required reading that prompted the concept/fact/issue. These bullets/summaries will collectively constitute 25% of the overall grade. The assignment will primarily be evaluated based on the quality of the 250 word section with the bullets able to enhance or lower that evaluation. No credit will be given for late submissions. Grading will be done on the basis of the student demonstrating that they have read and absorbed the required reading.
Class participation constitutes 25% of the overall grade.
Final Paper (There will be no final exam):
· A 5-7 page double spaced paper will be due one week after the end of the course. This paper can be either:
· An elaboration or expansion of one of the weekly submissions; or
· An idea for an innovative, cost effective housing or community development program or policy that will benefit low- and moderate-income communities or individuals/households/families at either the local, state, or national level.
· This paper should include:
· A statement up front of the problem/issue being addressed.
· A review of relevant research.
· A description, if relevant, of your proposed policy/program and how it will improve on current practice.
· If relevant, include fiscal implications, a sense of political feasibility, likely impacts at the community level, and any issues of scalability.
· Further questions on the paper can be addressed in class or in direct consultation with the Professor. Consultation in advance on the choice of topic is encouraged.
· The paper constitutes 50% of the overall grade.
CLASS 1: Background on the Current State and the History of Housing Markets and Housing Finance, and Interventions by the U.S—What Problem are We Trying to Fix?
Learning Objectives:
· An understanding of the basic facts of the U.S. housing markets (e.g., quality and quantity of housing, demographics, spatial distribution, affordability, etc.)
· Familiarity with types of data available and sources
Required Readings:
· Schwartz Text: Chapters 1 & 2
· Green and Malpezzi Text, Appendix 2.1, pp. 61-74 (copies of Chapter 2 are on reserve)
· Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “National and State Housing Fact Sheets & Data,” (Check out the national fact sheet and that for your favorite state). http://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/national-and-state-housing-fact-sheets-data
· Fischer, Will and Barbara Sard, “Chart Book: Federal Housing Spending is Poorly Matched to Need,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Updated November 4, 2016. http://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/chart-book-federal-housing-spending-is-poorly-matched-to-need
· Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, America’s Rental Housing:
Expanding Options for Diverse and Growing Demand, Cambridge, MA, December 9, 2015. Executive Summary (plus anything else that interests you) http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/americas-rental-housing
· Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. 2016 The State of the Nation’s Housing. Cambridge, MA. Executive Summary (plus anything else that interests you) http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/research/state_nations_housing
Optional Readings:
· Bayer, Patrick, Hanming Fang, and Robert McMillan. 2005. “Separate When Equal? Racial Inequality and Residential Segregation.” NBER Working Paper 11507. (http://aida.econ.yale.edu/~pjb37/ineq1.pdf
· Berube, Alan, “The Continuing Evolution of American Poverty and Its Implications for Community Development,” Investing in What Works for America’s Communities, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Low Income Investment Fund, 2012, pp. 55-71. http://www.frbsf.org/publications/community/investing-in-what-works/index.html
· Booth, Danielle DiMartino and David Luttrell, “The Fallacy of a Pain-Free Path to a Healthy Housing Market,” Economic Letter—Insights from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Vol. 5, No. 14. December 2010. http://www.dallasfed.org/assets/documents/research/eclett/2010/el1014.pdf
· Caner, A. and E.N. Wolff. 2004. “Asset Poverty in the United States, 1984-99: Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. “ Review of Income and Wealth, 50(4): pg. 493-518.
· Center for Housing Policy. “An Annual Look at the Housing Affordability Challenges of America’s Working Households,” February 2016. http://www.nhc.org/2016-housing-landscape
· Cutler, David, Edward Glaeser, and Jacob Vigdor. 1999. “The Rise and Decline of the American Ghetto.” Journal of Political Economy. 107(3): 455-506
· Ellen, Ingrid Gould. Forthcoming. “Understanding Segregation in the Year 2000.” In James H. Carr and Nandinee Kutty, editors, Segregation: The Rising Costs for America. New York: Routledge. (a draft copy of this chapter is available on NYU Classes)
· Ellen, Ingrid Gould and Margery Austin Turner. 1997. “Does Neighborhood Matter? Assessing Recent Evidence.” Housing Policy Debate, 8(4): pg. 833-866. http://www.knowledgeplex.org/programs/hpd/pdf/hpd_0804_ellen.pdf
· Green and Malpezzi Text, Chapter 2 (pp. 32-60 only, copies of Chapter 2 are on reserve)
· Kain, John F. 1983. America’s Persistent Housing Crises: Errors in Analysis and Policy. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 465 (January): 136-148.
· Kochhar, Rakesh, Richard Fry and Paul Taylor, “Wealth Gaps Rise to Record Highs Between Whites, Blacks and Hispanics,” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends. July 26, 2011. http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2069/housing-bubble-subprime-mortgages-hispanics-blacks-household-wealth-disparity
· National Housing Conference and the Center for Housing Policy and the Center for Neighborhood Technology, “Losing Ground: The Struggle of Moderate-Income Households to afford the Rising Costs of Housing and Transportation,” October 2012. http://www.nhc.org/2012-losing-ground
· National Low Income Housing Coalition, “Out of Reach 2012,” http://nlihc.org/oor/2013, and “The Shrinking Supply of Affordable Housing,” Housing Spotlight, Volume 3, Issue 1, February 2012, http://nlihc.org/article/housing-spotlight-volume-3-issue-1
· Quigley, John “Rental Housing Assistance.” Cityscape, July 2011, Volume 13, Number 2, Chapter 7, http://www.huduser.org/portal/periodicals/cityscpe/vol13num2/ch7.html
· Quigley, John M. and Stephen Raphael. 2004. “Is Housing Unaffordable? Why Isn’t it More Affordable?” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 18(1): pg. 191-214.
· Sinai, Todd and Joel Waldfogel. 2005. “Do Low-Income Housing Studies Increase the Occupied Housing Stock?” Journal of Public Economics, 89(11-12): 2137-2164. http://www.toddsinai.com/pdfs/Public-private_paper_2004.pdf
· Tracy, Joseph, Henry Schneider, and Sewin Chan, Are Stocks Overtaking Real Estate in Household Portfolios? Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Federal Reserve Bank of NY. April 1999.Volume 5, Number 5. http://www.ny.frb.org/research/current_issues/ci5-5.html
· Von Hoffman, Alexander, Eric S. Belsky, and Kwan Lee. 2006. The Impact of Housing on Community: A Review of Scholarly Theories and Empirical Research. Cambridge: Joint Center for Housing Studies Harvard University, pg. 1-48. http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/research/publications/impact-housing-community-review-scholarly-theories-and-empirical-research
· U.S. HUD, “Worst Case Housing Needs 2011”, Report to Congress, http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2013/HUDNo.13-028
CLASS 2: Housing Policy and the Economics of Housing; Testing for Alignment
Learning Objectives:
An understanding of the basic forces underlying the behavior of the different players in the housing and housing finance markets (e.g., supply, demand and substitution, filtering down/up and abandonment, displacement of people and units, externalities, partial and general equilibrium, the need for and the criteria to qualify for financing) and where they would lead without government intervention
The likely impact of government policies on existing market forces
The logic (or lack thereof) behind government policies that favor housing in general and homeownership in particular
The relative merits of homeownership, rental, and shared equity for individuals and society
The relative merits of for-profit, not-for-profit, and government entities as owners and developers
The logic and shortcomings of requiring permanent affordability as an antidote to the challenges of the expiring use restrictions on subsidized housing
Required Readings:
· Green and Malpezzi Text: Chapter 2 (pp. 5-31 only, copies are on Reserve)**
· Schwartz Text: Chapters 4, 9 (pp. 275-282 only), and Chapter 12 (pp. 379-394 only)
· Badger, Emily, How Many Gentrification Critics Are Actually Gentrifiers Themselves? Atlantic Cities, August 8, 2013. http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2013/08/what-happens-when-critics-gentrification-are-gentrifiers-themselves/6468/
· Davis, John Emmeus. “Shared Equity Homeownership: The Changing Landscape of Resale-Restricted, Owner-Occupied Housing.” National Housing Institute. 2006. Especially pages 1-31. http://www.nhi.org/pdf/SharedEquityHome.pdf
· Herbert, Christopher E. and Eric S. Belsky. 2006. The Homeownership Experience of Low Income and Minority Families. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Chapter 6 (pp. 118-132), the remainder of the publication is optional. http://www.huduser.org/Publications/PDF/hisp_homeown9.pdf
· Malpezzi, Stephen. 1996. “What Has Happened to the Bottom of the US Housing Market?” Urban Studies, 33(10): pg. 1807-1820.
· Price, David, “Home Matters!-Seven Policies That Could Prevent Roxbury’s Gentrification,” http://nuestracdc.org/seven-policies-that-could-prevent-roxburys-gentrification/.
· Sinai, Todd and Joel Waldfogel. 2005. “Do Low-Income Housing Subsidies Increase the Occupied Housing Stock?” Journal of Public Economics, 89(11-12): 2137-2164
· Swanson, Jann, “3 Options for Mortgage Interest Deduction Reform”, Mortgage News Daily, December 23, 2013. http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/06222011_mortgage_interest_deduction.asp
· Turner Margery Austin, Eric Toder, Rolf Pendall, and Claudia Sharygin, “How Would Reforming the Mortgage Interest Deduction Affect the Housing Market?”, Urban Institute, March 2013. http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/412776-How-Would-Reforming-the-Mortgage-Interest-Deduction-Affect-the-Housing-Market.pdf
**While not required, an alternative and supplemental resource for this class is Arthur
O’Sullivan’s textbook, Urban Economics, 8th Edition, which is on reserve in Bobst.
Optional Readings:
· Boehm, T.P. 1981. “Tenure Choice and Expected Mobility: A Synthesis.” Journal of Urban Economics, 10(3): 375-389.
· Boehm, T.P. and A.M. Schlottmann. 2005. Wealth Accumulation and Homeownership: Evidence for Low-Income Households. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research. http://www.huduser.org/portal/publications/HOMEOWN/WAccuNHomeOwn.html
· Birnbaum, H. and R. Weston. 1974. “Home Ownership and the Wealth Position of Black and White Americans.” Review of Income and Wealth, 20(1): 103-118.
· Bucchianeri, Grace W. The American Dream or The American Delusion? The Private and External Benefits of Homeownership. Working Paper. The Wharton School of Business. http://real.wharton.upenn.edu/~wongg/research/The%20American%20Dream.pdf\
· Carliner, M.S. 1998. “Development of Federal Homeownership ‘Policy’.” Housing Policy Debate, 9(2): 299-321. http://www.michaelcarliner.com/HPD98-OwnershipPolicy.pdf
· Center for American Progress. “A Responsible Market for Rental Housing Finance: Envisioning the Future of the U.S. Secondary Market for Multifamily Residential Rental Mortgages.” Prepared by the Mortgage Finance Working Group’s Multifamily Subcommittee, chaired by CAP Senior Fellow David Abromowitz. October 2010 http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/10/pdf/multifamilyhousingreport.pdf
· Congressional Budget Office, “An Overview of Federal Support for Housing,” Economic and Budget Issue Brief, November 3, 2009. http://www.cbo.gov/publication/41219
· Cortright, Joe, “More People in Cities Today Live in Poverty Than in 1970,” Next City, December 5, 2014, http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/cities-poverty-numbers-gentrification?utm_source=Furman+Center+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=66478edd7e-Housing_Starts_Aug_29&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ea37468da6-66478edd7e-173372669
· Cortright, Joe, “Ten More you should read about Gentrification, Integration and Concentrated Poverty,” City Observatory, September 12, 2014, http://cityobservatory.org/gentrification-reader-2/
· Currie, Janet and Aaron Yelowitz. 2000. “Are Public Housing Projects Good for Kids?” Journal of Public Economics, 75(1): 99-124.
· DeGiovanni et al., Bank-Ability: A Practical Guide to Real Estate Financing for Nonprofit Developers (1996): 11-20, 49-69 (copy on NYU Classes)
· Eng, Amanda, Harvey Galper, Georgia Ivsin, and Eric Toder, “Options To Reform The Deduction For Home Mortgage Interest,” The Urban Institute and Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, March 18, 2013. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/412768-Options-to-Reform-the-MID.pdf
· Follain, James R. and Lisa Sturman Melamed. 1998. “The False Messiah of Tax Policy: What Elimination of the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction Promises and a Careful Look at What it Delivers.” Journal of Housing Research, 9(2): pg. 179-199. http://www.knowledgeplex.org/showdoc.html?id=2473
· Freeman, Lance and Frank Braconi. 2004. “Gentrification and Displacement.” The Urban Prospect, Citizens Housing and Planning Council. NYC. January/February 2002 Volume 8, Number 1. http://www.chpcny.org/pubs/UP_Gentrification_Displacement.pdf