Comment on William Apgar's, “Which housing policy is best?”

Abstract

William Apgar’s presentation confronts the most contentious issue in contemporary housing policy. Often, one’s position on the question of supply-side subsidies versus vouchers is taken as the litmus test of being a housing “conservative” or “liberal.” This is indeed unfortunate since many analysts and policy makers recognize that some mix of project-based and tenant-based subsidies is appropriate nationally, and that in a country as diverse as the United States, housing policy must vary with local market conditions. The real issue is under what local market conditions are the more costly per unit project-based subsidies essential.