Ž . JOURNAL OF URBAN ECONOMICS 41, 2337 1997 ARTICLE NO. UE961085 Assessing the Effect of Rent Control on Homelessness* PAUL W. G RIMES AND G EORGE A. CHRESSANTHIS College of Business and Industry, Mississippi State Uni  ersity, Mississippi State, Mississippi 39762-9580 Received August 3, 1994; revised August 8, 1995 Using 1990 census data, this paper addresses the effect of rent control laws on two groups considered to be the chronic homeless; the shelter population and the street population. The empirical analysis extends previous work by treating a city’s rent control as an endogenous variable within the context of a two-stage model. The model controls for factors assumed to influence voters’ choice regarding the enactment of rent control as well as factors assumed to determine a city’s rate of homelessness. The results indicate that rent control is a positive, although rela- tively small, determinant of a city’s shelter and street populations. The existence of a rent control law is predicted to increase a city’s shelter population by .03% and its street population by .008%, ceteris paribus.  1997 Academic Press Homelessness is a major social, economic, and political issue today in the United States. Through the mass media, the general public has witnessed the plight of the nation’s homeless population. The increased visibility of the homeless has caused Americans to reflect about the underlying economic and social problems which generate homelessness. The number of homeless nationwide is difficult to measure with a high degree of accuracy and reliability. Estimates range from one-quarter to  one-half million individuals 5 and vary widely because experts have yet to agree on a consistent definition of homelessness. Regardless of the exact figure, homelessness is a serious and growing concern in many American  cities 6 . The causes of today’s homeless problem have been hotly debated   in the popular press and public forum 13 . It is often argued that  homelessness is a natural consequence of the market system 2 . For example, tight housing markets and excess labor supply are cited as primary determinants of homelessness. However, some suggest that home- *An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1994 Southern Economic Associa- tion meetings. The authors thank Rasha Myers and Vivek Pandeyfor their help in collecting and compiling the census data for this project. Special thanks are also due to Charles Wax for providing climate data and Marybeth Charters for editorial assistance. Helpful suggestions were provided by Charles Register, the editor, and two anonymous referees of this journal. 23 0094-119097 $25.00 Copyright  1997 by Academic Press All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.