Housing Policies and Unmarried Mothers’ Living Arrangements

Many studies estimate the effects of welfare benefits on mothers’ living arrangements while housing costs and subsidies are rarely the focus of study. Housing costs and subsidies affect the affordability and accessibility of housing. This article estimates the effects of housing prices and public and subsidized housing on the living arrangements of mothers three years after a non-marital birth while controlling for welfare benefit levels, sex ratios, unemployment rates, child support enforcement and personal characteristics. Results suggest that housing prices are positively associated with marriage, cohabitation and living with family. The availability of public and subsidized housing are negatively associated with both marriage and cohabitation relative to living alone. The relative risk of marriage is reduced more than cohabitation suggesting eligibility criteria and meanstesting make marriage more costly. Failure to control for housing costs and subsidies leads to underestimates of the effects of welfare and unemployment rates on living arrangements.