Homeless

Christopher Jencks is John D. MacArthur Professor of Sociology and Urban Affairs at Northwestern University.

In his new book, Christopher Jencks sets out to bring clarity and sense to the public debate. He systematically reviews and evaluates a large body of research literature on the homeless and, in less than 200 pages of tersely written and tightly argued text, he deftly leads the reader through a maze of assertions… He writes lucidly and compellingly and, what is more, he does not pull his punches… The Homeless is undoubtedly a major achievement… [Jencks’] findings defy not only the wisdom of the average sidewalk sociologist, but also the arguments of many established researchers… The Homeless, with its challenging findings, is a bold book… Mr. Jencks, with his masterly exposition of complex data and his discriminating, well-balanced assessments, goes a long way toward restoring confidence in the capacity of the social sciences to transcend politically loaded policy analysis. He also goes a long way toward restoring a modicum of realism to public debate.

• The Numbers 1. Counting the Homeless 2. Estimating the Increase Promising Explanations 3. Emptying the Back Wards 4. The Crock Epidemic S. Jobs and Marriage 6. The Destruction of Skid Row Less-Promising Explanations 7. Social Skills and Family Ties 8. Changes in the Housing Market 9. Budget Cuts and Rent Control Reversing the Trend 10. Do Shelters Cause Homelessness? 11. Some Partial Solutions Appendix 1: Derivation of Tables 1 and 2 Appendix 2: Supplementary Tables Notes