Codirector, RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness; Economist; Professor of Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School
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Jason Ward is an economist at RAND, codirector of the RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness, and a professor of policy analysis at Pardee RAND Graduate School. His work uses the tools of applied microeconomics to study housing and homelessness policy, labor markets, and education and health policy. Curent areas of research include studies on the relationship between HUD vouchers and social security income supports, cost drivers in the production of both privately- and publicly-financed multifamily housing, patterns in unsheltered homelessness in Los Angeles, and research on the intersection of housing needs and future water supply in Southern California.
Ward's recent and past research has assessed the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on measurement error in employment statistics, the effect of COVID-induced school closures on nurse labor supply, the effect of parental involvement laws on abortions to minors, the effects of performance-based state higher education funding systems on student outcomes, the nature of 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, 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
