John M. Quigley, University of California, Berkeley

As with the articles in this issue, this introduction reflects the views of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The worst-case housing needs of low-income households arise largely from their high rent burdens, not from physically inadequate housing. Thus, the programs of housing assistance for these households initiated in the Great Depression should now be recognized as a part of the nation’s welfare system, not as an infrastructure investment program. This paper considers the most important implications of these facts for the design of housing assistance programs and for the administration of housing subsidies.