Codirector, RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness; Economist; Professor of Policy Analysis, RAND School of Public Policy
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Jason Ward is codirector of the RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness, an economist at RAND, and a professor of policy analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy. His work uses the tools of applied microeconomics to study housing and homelessness policy, as well as labor, education and health policy. Current areas of research include documenting and understanding regional cost differences in the production of both privately- and publicly-financed multifamily housing, improving the effectiveness of federal rental assistance programs, monitoring changes in unsheltered homelessness in Los Angeles, and research on the intersection of future housing needs and water supply in Southern California.
Recent and past research has assessed the effects of restrictive labor agreements attached to public funding mechanisms on the cost of producing affordable housing in Los Angeles, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on measurement error in employment statistics, the effect of COVID-induced school closures on nurse labor supply, causal relationships affecting geographic variation in health care utilization, and the association between education and health over the life course. His research and commentary has been featured in media outlets including the New York TImes, the Los Angeles Times, NPR's Marketplace, CNN Business, and other outlets. Ward received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Ph.D. in economics, University of Illinois; M.A. in economics, University of Illinois; B.A. in economics, University of Illinois
