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The Impact on Residential Choice of the Family Home Exemption in Resource-Tested Transfer Programs

Author

Listed:
  • John Piggott

    (ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research, Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales)

  • Renuka Sane

    (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research)

Abstract

Many countries have policies offering transfers or other entitlements, subject to a resources test. In most cases, these exempt the family home. While the impacts of means-tested programs on saving and labor supply have been extensively studied, exempting the owner-occupier home has escaped analytic attention. We assess the exemption of the owner-occupied home from the Australian age-pension on residential mobility and housing trade-downs. Results suggest that this provision discourages trade-down behaviour.

Suggested Citation

  • John Piggott & Renuka Sane, 2011. "The Impact on Residential Choice of the Family Home Exemption in Resource-Tested Transfer Programs," Working Papers 201112, ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), Australian School of Business, University of New South Wales.
    • Handle: RePEc:asb:wpaper:201112
    as

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    File URL: http://cepar.edu.au/media/48649/Impact%20on%20Residential%20Choice%20of%20the%20Family%20Home.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Elderly mobility; housing; residential transition; means-testing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis

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