Richard T. Ely and the Contribution of Economic Research to National Housing Policy, 1920-1940

Abstract

In December of 1931, 3,608 leaders of business, government, and civic affairs met in Washington, DC for the President's Conference on Home Building and Home Ownership . Thirty-one conference committees ultimately produced 11 volumes of reports designed to promote affordable, improved quality, owner-occupied housing in urban and rural areas.' An important feature of these reports was the extent of technical research utilised by the committees. Had the conference been held a decade earlier, far less scholarly expertise would have been