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Assesses the case of expansion of the financing, regulation, and provision of emergency shelters for the homeless in New York City during 1978-1988. Roles of multiple political factors in accounting for growth of a public social function; Political forces having a direct and immediate impact on the decisions by city officials.

Modern governments that try to influence economic and social conditions are said to encounter a paradox: the more they try, the more they may succeed, but the more interdependent and out of control they become. This article proposes a theoretical morphology for analyzing programmatic variables that directly produce social spending. Three gate variables are developed: the beneficiary population, program content, and financing rules. The analysis identifies the gatekeepers of each variable and assesses their capacity for control. It tests the morphology in cases of expansion of public social spending in the 1980's, including emergency shelters for homeless families in New York City [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]