Dr. Daniel Tannenbaum, assistant professor of economics, earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He also serves as a faculty affiliate for the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools. His research focuses on labor and public economics and has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the Russell Sage Foundation, the W.E. Upjohn Foundation and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. His published and forthcoming papers are featured in AEJ: Applied Economics, the Journal of Labor Economics and the Journal of Monetary Economics.

Tannenbaum’s recent work provides the first in-depth analysis of the effects of eviction on financial health. He and his co-authors use innovative data comparing households involved in the eviction process. They found that although eviction damages credit score, access to credit and durable consumption for several years after, the effects are small relative to the financial strain experienced by both evicted and non-evicted tenants in the year leading up to the filing. Eviction shows no significant impact on debt in collections, residential mobility or neighborhood poverty. The data also shows while 75 percent of landlords are represented by an attorney, only three percent of tenants have legal representation.

“Evictions have occurred for thousands of years but we have very little data and research on eviction. It’s very exciting to work with such brilliant co-authors and bring new evidence forward on the social costs of eviction and its effects on families. Although more research is needed, our work contributes to national policy discussion and suggests policies targeting the eviction court setting are too late. Opportunities for reform earlier on may have larger and more meaningful impacts for people in financial distress, especially for the many without an advocate,” said Tannenbaum.