The Economic Role of New Housing

In recent years, there has been considerable interest within the UK from lobbies and policymakers about the wider effects of housing investment. Better housing is associated with positive health, educational and other community benefits. But does new housing have economic impacts and how significant are these effects? Does housing investment create jobs; does it help labour market adjustment; what does it imply for urban and regional economic development? This paper reports findings from a recent research project by the authors for the Housing Research Foundation, wherein evidence from the literature and from a series of new simulation and econometric modelling were assembled and analysed. The distinctive feature of the research is that it stratifies the analysis by spatial scale ñ contrasting findings from national models with those conducted at regional and urban scales. At each level of analysis, a key theme is emphasised: At the national level, crowding-out; At the regional level, new housingís impact on regional economic convergence and divergence; At the urban scale, new housingís role in cumulative causation processes of urban growth and decline. // The paper is structured in five main parts. First, it sets out key features and trends associated with new housing in the UK. Second, it considers existing and new research at the national scale and, in the third and fourth sections, repeats this approach at the regional and urban scales. In the final section of the paper, the authors synthesise the findings and draw wider conclusions.