Project Summary
We propose to evaluate the effects of pandemic eviction prevention policies on individual- and area-level death
rates, leveraging variation in policies over time and between locations to gain new insight into the relationship
between eviction and mortality. Stagnant wages and rising rents over the last several decades have resulted in
unprecedented levels of housing cost burden in the U.S. and, in turn, forced millions of renters to face the
threat of eviction each year. The pandemic worsened this crisis, resulting in catastrophic job and wage loss,
especially for Black, Hispanic, and female renters who already experienced the highest rates of housing
insecurity. To prevent a surge in evictions, federal, state, and local policymakers established a range of
eviction prevention policies, most notably eviction moratoria and emergency rental assistance (ERA). These
policies varied across the country in how and when they were implemented, creating large exogenous variation
in eviction risk. We exploit that variation to evaluate the effects of eviction on mortality and inequalities in
mortality. In so doing, we provide insight into the potential for eviction prevention policies to advance health
equity. Our project has three aims: 1) We examine the effect of eviction filings on all-cause adult mortality by
age, race/ethnicity, and gender using a unique linkage of individual eviction filing records and Census Bureau
microdata. We also estimate the number of lives saved by eviction prevention policies and project mortality
gains had more protective measures been comprehensively implemented. 2) We analyze the effects of eviction
prevention policies on county-level mortality using a difference-and-differences framework. We analyze how
the staggered lifting of eviction moratoria (2020) and disbursal of ERA (2021-22) affected all-cause, cause-
specific, and age-specific adult mortality, with a focus on racial/ethnic and gender variations in these
associations. 3) We explore the lived experience of eviction prevention policies using in-depth interview data
collected with a diverse sample of renters across two distinct policy landscapes. Our project combines the
strengths of multiple approaches. Our unique linkage of individual-level eviction-filing and mortality records
allows us to produce precise estimates of deaths averted due to eviction prevention policies. We also leverage
natural experiments to examine the causal impact of these policies on county-level measures of mortality,
capturing potential spillover effects. And our qualitative data help to clarify mechanisms underlying these
impacts. Housing policy has played a significant role in producing racial inequalities. Our project identifies the
potential for housing policies to redress these harms and advance health equity.