Research

PUBLICATION

Sitti, R. W. & Berrens, R. P., (2022) “Valuing fishing access on Lake Victoria’s Winam Gulf: A hedonic pricing model,” International Journal of Ecological Economics & Statistics, Issue No. 2, Vol. 43 

WORKING PAPERS

DISSERTATION

My dissertation project consists of three essays that collectively contribute to understanding the complex costs at the intersection of homelessness, substance use disorder treatment, economics, and public policy.

• Homeless in Seattle: Placement of Shelters and Effects by Type on Property Values (with Horn P. Brady and Berrens P. Robert) [job market paper]

The first essay investigates the impacts of supportive housing/ homelessness shelters on property values. I utilize King County’s Department of Assessment, Seattle, WA, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data. While anecdotal claims suggest that homeless shelters lead to property devaluation, empirical research on the influence of different supportive housing programs on property values is lacking. This is partly due to empirical challenges associated with endogenous location choices of supportive housing programs. I address endogeneity bias using a spatial difference-in-difference methodology. Findings reveal nuanced effects contingent on shelter type, highlighting the benefits of permanent supportive housing over traditional emergency shelters. These findings hold implications for reducing homelessness and inform targeted interventions. 

• Functional Zero Homelessness and Impact on Crime: Evidence from the Built-for-Zero Program (with Horn P. Brady and Li, Xiaoxue)

The second essay examines the intricate relationship between homelessness and crime in the United States. Since 2015, the Built-for-Zero initiative (a nationwide intervention aimed at reducing homelessness to functional zero “rare and brief”) has been implemented in select counties across the U.S. In an effort to assess the benefits of solving homelessness, this study explores the effectiveness of the 'Built-for-Zero' initiative in mitigating homelessness and its ripple effects on U.S. crime rates. The data on homelessness is sourced from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) while county-level crime data is obtained from the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. We employ two-way fixed effects, staggered difference-in-difference, and event studies to address causal inference concerns. Our findings reveal that the Built-for-Zero initiative reduces homelessness by reducing unsheltered populations while increasing the sheltered population, this, in turn, reduces crime. Notably, this study underscores the potential of targeted homelessness programs to tackle crime-related concerns simultaneously.

• The Effect of Peer and Community Support Services on Medicaid Billing Charges (with Horn P. Brady, Caroline Bonham, Tyler Kincaid, and Xiaoya, Wu)

The third essay is a collaboration with colleagues in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Department. We investigate the economic benefits of peer recovery support services. Recently, several states expanded their Medicaid services to reimburse recovery services for substance use disorder. As behavioral health shifts into “recovery-oriented” models of care, lived experiences can be a valuable aspect of treatment. This essay reveals the cost-saving element of recovery support services by reducing billing charges for other Medicaid services. Utilizing the administrative dataset from New Mexico Medicaid claims, findings indicate that increased engagement with peer support workers and community support workers lowered billing charges. These findings contribute to the growing evidence supporting expanded substance use disorder treatment.

OTHER WORKING PAPER

 The Impact of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Generosity on Food Away, and at Home Purchases (with Horn P. Brady, and Li, Xiaoxue)

RESEARCH PROJECTS

•  Cost analysis for a pilot study on contingency management, a behavior modification approach that uses incentives for patients with a substance use disorder (SUD) in the Addiction and Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) at the University of New Mexico Hospital

Funded by New Mexico Medicaid

Principal Investigator: Caroline Bonham

• Cost analysis study to estimate the optimal Medicaid reimbursement claim for SUD treatment for families with children at risk of developmental delay due to exposure to SUDs

Funded by New Mexico Medicaid

Principal Investigator: Caroline Bonham

• Cost analysis of a one-year feasibility study of the integrated multi-level intervention. This intervention included screening patients at risk of SUD, motivational interviewing, a trauma-specific treatment for SUD, and pharmacotherapy

Funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

Principal Investigator: Annette Crisanti

• Cost analysis of the Cascade of Care intervention for justice-involved individuals reentering society who use or are at risk for using Opioids

Funded by Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN)

Principal Investigator: Noah Painter-Davis