IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jhouse/v17y2008i1p1-33.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic effects of upfront subsidies to ownership: The case of the Prêt à Taux Zéro in France

Author

Listed:
  • Gobillon, Laurent
  • le Blanc, David

Abstract

This article analyses some effects of the French upfront subsidy to homeownership called Prêt à Taux Zéro (PTZ) introduced in 1996. The PTZ can be viewed as a downpayment subsidy to low and middle-income first-time buyers. The effects of the subsidy are modelled by simulating the introduction of the PTZ in an econometric model of mobility and tenure choice estimated on micro-data. Our results show that the PTZ significantly increases access to ownership by allowing some households to leave the rental sector sooner. However, the PTZ generates a large windfall effect. We estimate that 85% of the beneficiaries in a 4-year period would still have moved to own in the absence of the subsidy. As a consequence, the PTZ has a rather low multiplier effect, which we estimate at around 1.3. Our simulations also show that the PTZ may not help to improve the overall quality of new construction in France.

Suggested Citation

  • Gobillon, Laurent & le Blanc, David, 2008. "Economic effects of upfront subsidies to ownership: The case of the Prêt à Taux Zéro in France," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 1-33, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:17:y:2008:i:1:p:1-33
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1051-1377(07)00030-7
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Duca, John V. & Rosenthal, Stuart S., 1994. "Borrowing constraints and access to owner-occupied housing," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 301-322, June.
    2. Manuel Arellano & Costas Meghir, 1992. "Female Labour Supply and On-the-Job Search: An Empirical Model Estimated Using Complementary Data Sets," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 59(3), pages 537-559.
    3. Nicole Tabard, 1993. "Des quartiers pauvres aux banlieues aisées : une représentation sociale du territoire," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 270(1), pages 5-22.
    4. Laurent Gobillon & David Le Blanc, 2002. "L’impact des contraintes d’emprunt sur la mobilité résidentielle et les choix de statut d’occupation des ménages : un modèle simple de demande," Working Papers 2002-27, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    5. William C. LaFayette & Donald R. Haurin & Patric H. Hendershott, 1995. "Endogenous Mortgage Choice, Borrowing Constraints and the Tenure Decision," NBER Working Papers 5074, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Peter Linneman & Susan Wachter, 1989. "The Impacts of Borrowing Constraints on Homeownership," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 17(4), pages 389-402, December.
    7. David le Blanc & Christine Lagarenne, 2004. "Owner-Occupied Housing and the Composition of the Household Portfolio: The Case of France," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 29(3), pages 259-275, November.
    8. Peter M. Zorn, 1989. "Mobility‐Tenure Decisions and Financial Credit: Do Mortgage Qualification Requirements Constrain Homeownership?," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 17(1), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Linneman, Peter & Megbolugbe, Isaac F. & Wachter, Susan M. & Cho, Man, 1997. "Do Borrowing Constraints Change U.S. Homeownership Rates?," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(4), pages 318-333, December.
    10. Henderson, J Vernon & Ioannides, Yannis M, 1983. "A Model of Housing Tenure Choice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(1), pages 98-113, March.
    11. Marjorie Flavin & Takashi Yamashita, 2002. "Owner-Occupied Housing and the Composition of the Household Portfolio," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 345-362, March.
    12. Arnott, Richard J. & MacKinnon, James G., 1977. "Measuring the costs of height restrictions with a general equilibrium model," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 359-375, November.
    13. repec:bla:econom:v:53:y:1986:i:210:p:231-46 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Bjorklund, Anders & Moffitt, Robert, 1987. "The Estimation of Wage Gains and Welfare Gains in Self-selection," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(1), pages 42-49, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carozzi, Felipe & Hilber, Christian A.L. & Yu, Xiaolun, 2024. "On the economic impacts of mortgage credit expansion policies: Evidence from help to buy," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Laurent Gobillon & François-Charles Wolff, 2009. "Housing and location choices of retiring households: Evidence from France," PSE Working Papers hal-00424096, HAL.
    3. Laurent Gobillon & Matthieu Solignac, 2020. "Homeownership of immigrants in France: selection effects related to international migration flows [A nation of immigrants: assimilation and economic outcomes in the age of mass migration]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 20(2), pages 355-396.
    4. Suntum, Ulrich van, 2009. "Housing, taxation and retirement provision," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 249-255, September.
    5. Laurent Gobillon & Francois-Charles Wolff, 2011. "Housing and Location Choices of Retiring Households: Evidence from France," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 48(2), pages 331-347, February.
    6. repec:ehl:lserod:124116 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Goffette-Nagot, Florence & Sidibé, Modibo, 2016. "Housing wealth accumulation: The role of public housing," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 12-22.
    8. Kunovac, Davor & Zilic, Ivan, 2022. "The effect of housing loan subsidies on affordability: Evidence from Croatia," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    9. Sophie Dantan & Nathalie Picard, 2016. "Effect Of Borrowing Constraints On Location Choice: Evidence From The Paris Region," Working Papers hal-01294215, HAL.
    10. Dietsch, Michel & Petey, Joël, 2015. "The credit-risk implications of home ownership promotion: The effects of public subsidies and adjustable-rate loans," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 103-120.
    11. Sylvain Chareyron & Tidiane Ly & Yohann Trouvé-Sargison, 2021. "Ownership incentives and housing affordability: Evidence from France," Erudite Working Paper 2021-03, Erudite.
    12. Sophie Dantan & Nathalie Picard, 2019. "Borrowing constraints and location choice - Evidence from the Paris Region," THEMA Working Papers 2019-05, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laurent Gobillon & David Le Blanc, 2005. "Quelques effets économiques du prêt à taux zéro," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 381(1), pages 63-89.
    2. Laurent Gobillon & David Le Blanc, 2002. "L’impact des contraintes d’emprunt sur la mobilité résidentielle et les choix de statut d’occupation des ménages : un modèle simple de demande," Working Papers 2002-27, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    3. Vigdor, Jacob L., 2006. "Liquidity constraints and housing prices: Theory and evidence from the VA Mortgage Program," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(8-9), pages 1579-1600, September.
    4. Laurent Gobillon & David Le Blanc, 2002. "The Impact of Borrowing Constraints on Mobility and Tenure Choice," Working Papers 2002-28, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    5. Gabriel, Stuart A. & Rosenthal, Stuart S., 2005. "Homeownership in the 1980s and 1990s: aggregate trends and racial gaps," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 101-127, January.
    6. Jacob L. Vigdor, 2004. "Liquidity Constraints and Housing Prices: Theory and Evidence from the VA Mortgage," NBER Working Papers 10611, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. François Ortalo-Magné & Sven Rady, 2006. "Housing Market Dynamics: On the Contribution of Income Shocks and Credit Constraints ," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 73(2), pages 459-485.
    8. Luci Ellis, 2005. "Disinflation and the dynamics of mortgage debt," BIS Papers chapters, in: Bank for International Settlements (ed.), Investigating the relationship between the financial and real economy, volume 22, pages 5-20, Bank for International Settlements.
    9. Ambrose, Brent W. & Diop, Moussa, 2014. "Spillover effects of subprime mortgage originations: The effects of single-family mortgage credit expansion on the multifamily rental market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 114-135.
    10. Jonathan Halket & Santhanagopalan Vasudev, 2014. "Saving Up or Settling Down: Home Ownership over the Life Cycle," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(2), pages 345-366, April.
    11. Laurent Gobillon & François-Charles Wolff, 2009. "Housing and location choices of retiring households: Evidence from France," PSE Working Papers hal-00424096, HAL.
    12. Antonia Diaz & Maria Jose Luengo Prado, 2008. "On the User Cost and Homeownership," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(3), pages 584-613, July.
    13. repec:esx:essedp:712 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Philippe Bracke & Christian Hilber & Olmo Silva, 2014. "Homeownership and Entrepreneurship: The Role of Mortgage Debt and Commitment," CESifo Working Paper Series 5048, CESifo.
    15. Green, Richard K. & Vandell, Kerry D., 1999. "Giving households credit: How changes in the U.S. tax code could promote homeownership," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(4), pages 419-444, July.
    16. Serena Trucchi, 2011. "How credit markets affect homeownership: an explanation based on differences between Italian regions," CeRP Working Papers 122, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    17. Engelhardt, Gary V. & Mayer, Christopher J., 1998. "Intergenerational Transfers, Borrowing Constraints, and Saving Behavior: Evidence from the Housing Market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 135-157, July.
    18. Deng, Yongheng & Ross, Stephen L. & Wachter, Susan M., 2003. "Racial differences in homeownership: the effect of residential location," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 517-556, September.
    19. François Ortalo-Magné & Andrea Prat, 2016. "Spatial Asset Pricing: A First Step," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(329), pages 130-171, January.
    20. Daniel K. Fetter, 2013. "How Do Mortgage Subsidies Affect Home Ownership? Evidence from the Mid-century GI Bills," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 111-147, May.
    21. Jie Chen & Zan Yang, 2017. "What do young adults on the edges of homeownership look like in big cities in an emerging economy: Evidence from Shanghai," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(10), pages 2322-2341, August.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:17:y:2008:i:1:p:1-33. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622881 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.