Volume 18, Issue 2
2007

Andrew Aurand

Public choice theory provides a basis for predicting that a fragmented regional government structure encourages municipalities to limit affordable housing for low-income households, an action that in turn has consequences for the region's overall supply and distribution of such units. This research tests two hypotheses: First, greater fragmentation in a metropolitan region is expected to be associated with increased segregation of affordable rental housing. Second, greater fragmentation is expected to be associated with a smaller supply of affordable rental units relative to the need.

Contrary to these hypotheses, the results show that greater fragmentation is associated with a greater relative supply of affordable housing for extremely low and very low income households, but does not affect its distribution. These findings suggest that a unified government structure may reduce the supply of, rather than the barriers to, affordable housing for low-income households.