Rachel Steiner-Dillon

  • Does Homeownership Make Workers More Resilient After Economic Shocks?

    Does Homeownership Make Workers More Resilient After Economic Shocks?

    During the Great Recession, workers around the globe unexpectedly lost their jobs due to large-scale layoffs and firm bankruptcies. The factors that led to their loss of employment were often unrelated to the individual. However, what happened afterward — whether they found new employment, what wage they accepted if they…

  • Crime Prevention for Economic Development: Lessons from Chicago and Los Angeles

    Crime Prevention for Economic Development: Lessons from Chicago and Los Angeles

    Crime imposes an immense burden on cities, taking its toll in higher policing costs, lower property values, fewer job opportunities, and reduced overall quality of life. High and rising rates of crime are often cited as reasons for businesses not to locate to areas of concentrated poverty. Meanwhile, municipal leaders…

  • Should Cities Compete? The Case Against Federal Contracts

    Should Cities Compete? The Case Against Federal Contracts

    With stagnating wages and declining entrepreneurship across the United States, state and local governments are under increasing pressure to deliver economic good news. Cities are in constant competition, dedicating considerable time and resources to business incentives and vying for federal grants and contracts. Historically, the full extent to which these…

  • Building Better Housing Vouchers Without Breaking the Bank

    Building Better Housing Vouchers Without Breaking the Bank

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8) is designed to help low-income families, as well as the elderly and disabled, cover the cost of “decent, safe, and sanitary housing.” Participants pay a fraction of their net household income for rent, with a…