Shelters may both generate positive externalities (bringing people in from the street) and present visible evidence of policy action. To test this proposition, the researchers paired data on two statewide initiatives in California, where voters were asked to fund new homeless shelters, with administrative data on new shelter openings, citizen reports of street encampments, police stops, and streetview images. They found that voters living closest to new facilities increased their support between the two ballot initiatives and increased their turnout compared to those living just slightly further away.

The effects stem from the opening of new permanent housing, not emergency shelters, suggesting that the 'deservingness' of recipients plays a role in voter support. Using data from San Francisco and Los Angeles, the effect of shelter opening on neighborhood externalities was investigated. The findings suggest that voters reward policy action and that NIMBY opposition may be more prospective than retrospective.

About the speaker

Alexander Sahn is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and the Thomas J. Pearsall Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research sits at the intersection of political economy and representation, with a focus on subnational governments in the United States.