Social capital and the revitalization of New York City's distressed inner‐city housing

Abstract

This article presents evidence that social capital can be an effective component of locally sponsored low‐income housing programs. It provides a model for measuring social capital at the building level, where it may be most effective in improving housing quality and security. The study compares five programs in New York City that house the city's poorest, mostly minority residents. The surveys from 487 buildings in Brooklyn, NY, were analyzed to compare the success of programs in maintaining and revitalizing landlord‐abandoned buildings taken by the city in lieu of taxes.

Results of the analysis demonstrate that the positive effects of tenant ownership were largely mediated by the higher levels of social capital found in these buildings. These levels have implications for the survival and economic advancement of poor households and civic participation in poor communities. The study suggests the value of alternative homeownership programs.     

Networks and nonprofits: Opportunities and challenges in an era of federal devolution

Abstract

Community development corporations and other nonprofit organizations are increasingly responsible for producing and managing low‐income housing in urban America. This article examines the network of governmental, philanthropic, educational, and other institutions that channel financial, technical, and political support to nonprofit housing sponsors. We analyze the relationships among these institutions and propose an explanation for their success. We then consider challenges the network must confront if the reinvention of federal housing policy is to succeed.

Block grants and rental vouchers, the dominant emphases of federal policy, present opportunities and constraints for nonprofit housing groups and their institutional networks. While states and municipalities are likely to continue to use block grants for nonprofit housing, the viability of this housing will be severely tested as project‐based operating subsidies are replaced by tenant‐based vouchers. We recommend ways that the federal, state, and local governments should help the institutional support network respond to this challenge.     

The cost‐effectiveness of the low‐income housing tax credit relative to vouchers: Evidence from six metropolitan areas

Abstract

How expensive is the Low‐Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program relative to vouchers? Are there any market conditions under which the supply‐based LIHTC could be more cost‐effective than demand‐based vouchers? This article examines these questions in six metropolitan areas—Boston, New York, San Jose (CA), Atlanta, Cleveland, and Miami. Controlling for family income and unit size, I compare the development subsidies of new‐construction LIHTC projects with the alternative 20‐year voucher cost in each area.

In general, the LIHTC is found to be more expensive than vouchers. The premium, however, varies significantly by voucher payment standard and local housing market. Assuming a payment standard of 100 percent of fair market rent, the LIHTC is only 2 percent more expensive than vouchers in San Jose, but more than twice as expensive as vouchers in Atlanta. Many factors account for these regional variations. This study emphasizes two: local market conditions and program administration.     

Racial/ethnic differences in housing outcomes for first‐time,low‐income home buyers: Findings from a National homeownership education program

Abstract

Federal housing policies aimed at making homeownership more accessible through education and affordable lending have been successful in raising the homeownership rate among minorities. By marketing homeownership to underserved populations and helping them overcome financial and informational obstacles, such programs might be expected to promote equality in housing outcomes, including housing quality, neighborhood composition, and neighborhood conditions, for minority homeowners.

This article examines the experience of participants in a national home‐ownership education program. While the transition to homeownership has been associated with modest progress, it does not overcome persistent disparities in housing quality. Homeownership appears to lead to poorer neighborhood conditions for all lower‐income buyers—not just minorities—and may be exacerbating social and spatial isolation rather than helping to overcome it. Differences in neighborhood outcomes, however, may be due to locational preference rather than discrimination in housing and mortgage markets.     

Income changes do not influence political involvement in panel data from six countries

The income gradient in political participation is a widely accepted stylized fact. Based on nine panel datasets from six countries, this research note asks whether income changes trigger short-term effects on political involvement. Irrespective of indicator, specification, and method (hybrid random effects models, fixed effects models with lags and leads, and error correction models), there are few significant short-term effects of income changes. In conjunction with earlier research, this finding suggests that the income gradient in political participation is likely to reflect stable differences between rich and poor voters emerging early in the life course.     

收入分配不和谐的政府行为反思

收入分配的不和谐源于政府行为"失控,"形成于政府行为"扭曲"。构建和谐社会,必须依法规范政府行为,不断完善市场经济体制,以法律手段营造公平的竞争环境,建立有效的社会利益输送渠道,实现收入分配和谐。     

城市最低生活保障家庭收入和财产调查的状况、问题及对策

通过运用民政部在全国九城市进行的"规范城市最低生活保障制度"的调查数据和资料,对基层办保机构调查低保人员收入、财产、隐性就业的方法及效果进行了分析研究;对其在执行低保制度面临的主要障碍进行了梳理评述;对申报对象隐满收入和财产的行为进行了反思;对测评低保家庭收入和财产的指标进行了考察评估。在此基础上,文章对我国现行的城市最低生活保障制度存在的制度性和设计上的缺陷进行了探讨,进而对进一步规范我国城市最低生活保障制度提出了若干对策性建议和思考。     

外商直接投资对中国省域内收入分配的影响研究

关于外商直接投资对收入分配的影响效果,学界存在分歧.本文从中国省域内收入分配效应角度入手,选取1995-2010年中国省际面板数据,运用固定效应变截距模型,实证检验现有观点在中国的适用性.结果显示：外商直接投资扩大中国居民收入差距.究其原因是：外资企业采取“两头在外”和技术封锁的经营战略,低技术层次的内资企业难以融入外资企业的产业链,收入分配制度改革遇阻,内、外资企业薪酬制度差异.鉴此,本文提出：中国应提高外资企业的在华根植性,鼓励外资公司转让关键技术,适当限制过高收入,完善社会保障制度,实行财政转移支付制度,大力推进教育培训事业和国内外交流合作,健全知识产权制度.     

The Direction of the Reform of the State-owned Enterprise: Democratic Governance and Fair Salary

The reform of the state-owned enterprises cannot simply copy the governance model of European and American corporations, but should create a new-type labor relations using the unique advantage, which includes the building of democratic management system and fair salary system. As for the reasons: (1) based on the view of contractarianism, the enterprise itself belongs to all members, and there exists equal members relationship instead of employment relationship. As a result, enterprise should implement the common management system according to the contract rules; (2) the state-owned enterprise is not such a democratic organization which is governed completely by the internal, but should accept social regulations and supervision which is outside the enterprise, especially the need to establish a rational system of income distribution.     

文化消费与居民收入的敏感性关系分析——基于省际面板数据的实证研究

我国学者将西方消费函数理论应用于解释转型时期中国消费者的行为,并取得了丰富的研究成果.实证研究表明,在我国现阶段,居民消费存在着“过度敏感性”的特征.本文将西方消费理论应用于我国文化消费的研究中,利用我国2002-2011年的省际面板数据展开实证分析,得出我国城乡居民的文化消费确实存在“过度敏感性”的特征,且城镇居民的敏感系数高于农村居民.鉴于此,政府应该从提高居民收入水平,培育文化消费主体以及统筹城乡文化产业发展等方面着手,促进居民文化消费能力的提高.