The Impact of Evictions on Economic Well-Being: A Global Scoping Review

Background and Purpose:

Despite the robust literature linking eviction to various measures of economic well-being (e.g., income, wealth, employment), there has been no effort to synthesize evidence of the impact of eviction on people’s economic well-being. To address this gap, we conducted a global scoping review of research that examines this impact and whether such impact varies across countries by asking the following questions:

• How do existing studies on the impact of eviction on economic well-being define and operationalize the key concepts of eviction and economic well-being?
• How do these conceptual and operational definitions vary across countries?
• Does the impact of eviction on economic well-being vary across countries?

Methods: The project adopted the methodology developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute and was conducted and reported in full accordance with the PRISMA-ScR Checklist. We systematically searched an array of electronic databases (e.g. PubMed; PsycInfo; Web of Science) using relevant search terms. Articles identified by our search strategy were imported into Covidence, where titles and abstracts of all articles were screened for potential relevance by the research team. We used a standardized template to extract specific elements from all studies eligible for inclusion in the review, including title, aims, methods used, country of focus, definition of eviction and economic well-being outcomes, and key findings.

Results: Our database searches yielded 4474 records. After removing duplicates, and full-text reviews, we scoped a total of 10 articles that met the eligibility criteria. In countries like India, Ghana, China, and Vietnam, evictions resulted from factors like mining projects (2), land grabbing (1), state-sponsored demolitions (1), hydropower projects (1), and environmental concerns (1). In countries like the United States and Sweden, evictions primarily occurred through landlords evicting tenants via court orders (4). In the former set of countries, economic well-being captured the loss of land, resources, and livelihood loss, while in the latter group of countries, economic well-being involved the loss of employment, housing, and social support. Eviction impacts varied across countries based on whether they involved the loss of land, housing, or the complete demolition of dwellings.

Conclusions and Implications: The findings highlight the multifaceted nature of eviction causes based on the country. In Asian and Sub-Saharan countries, evictions are accompanied by displacement and demolitions caused by state-sponsored projects and concerns, while European and North American countries primarily experience evictions because of landlord-initiated court orders (sometimes done extrajudicially). Understanding the varied nature of evictions is crucial to proposing tailored solutions to mitigate housing insecurity and offer relief to vulnerable populations. At the same time, examining the dynamics of evictions and the implications on economic well-being is important for policymakers in designing contextually appropriate interventions that promote adequate housing and housing stability.