In order to follow the steps outlined in Section 3.3 and arrive at an estimate of benefit, we must know or be able to estimate the following:

1. The life expectancy of the head of the household and the age at which he or she entered the workforce

2. The length of uninterrupted participation in a subsidized housing program

3. The real rate of interest

4. The prices of housing services and nonhousing goods over the household's planning horizon

5. Household income over the household's planning horizon

6. The rent of the subsidized housing unit, and the market rent of the subsidized housing occupied during the years of participation

7. The parameters of the utility function

The purpose of this is to describe the procedures used to estimate these variables.

Length of life

As noted in 3, the model assumes that each household has a planning horizon equal to the remainder of the expected lifetime of the head of the household after entry into the workforce. In order to implement this model, it is assumed that all households have the same length of planning horizon, fifty-four years. I arrive at this figure by assuming a common entry age of twenty-one and a common life expectancy of seventy-five. Using the notation of 3, Li = 54 for every household i. Excluded from the sample are all households with heads younger than twenty-one or older than seventy-four.

Length of participation in a subsidized housing program

The model requires an estimate of the years of uninterrupted participation in a housing program.