IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v38y2001i9p1509-1520.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Home-ownership and Unemployment in the US

Author

Listed:
  • Richard K. Green

    (School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 975 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706-1323, USA, rgreen@bus.wisc.edu)

  • Patric H. Hendershott

    (Department of Land Economy, University of Aberdeen, St Mary's, King's College, Old Aberdeen, AB24 3UF, UK, p.hendershott@abdn.ac.uk)

Abstract

In this paper, we scrutinise Oswald's evidence that home-ownership and unemployment are correlated across the US states. In order to abstract from state fixed-effects in levels, we analyse the cross-sectional variation in changes in home-ownership and unemployment rates between 1970 and 1990. After duplicating (nearly) Oswald's result, we illustrate the importance of weighting the state observations by the fraction of total US households in 1970 that resided in the respective states and of abstracting from the ageing of the population between 1970 and 1990: this causes Oswald's correlation to to disappear. Secondly, we estimate the relationship for six different age-classes and for household heads and total population. We find that the relationship is non-existent for both young households and old households, but exists for middle-aged households. Young households have accumulated little wealth and have had less time to become attached to the geographical area than middle-aged households and thus are more likely to respond to unemployment by relocating. Older households' employment cannot be greatly affected by home-ownership because their members are largely not in the labour force. Unemployment rates of household heads are affected less by tenure than those of the population as a whole.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard K. Green & Patric H. Hendershott, 2001. "Home-ownership and Unemployment in the US," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 38(9), pages 1509-1520, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:38:y:2001:i:9:p:1509-1520
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980126669
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1080/00420980126669
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00420980126669?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Green, Richard K., 1996. "Should the stagnant homeownership rate be a source of concern?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3-4), pages 337-368, June.
    2. Patric H. Hendershott & Sheng Hu, 1982. "Accelerating Inflation and Nonassumable Fixed-Rate Mortgages: Effects On Consumer Choice and Welfare," Public Finance Review, , vol. 10(2), pages 158-184, April.
    3. DiPasquale, Denise & Glaeser, Edward L., 1999. "Incentives and Social Capital: Are Homeowners Better Citizens?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 354-384, March.
    4. Quigley, John M & Van Order, Robert, 1995. "Explicit Tests of Contingent Claims Models of Mortgage Default," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 99-117, September.
    5. Haurin Donald R. & Hendershott Patric H. & Kim Dongwook, 1994. "Housing Decisions of American Youth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 28-45, January.
    6. Kane, Thomas J, 1994. "College Entry by Blacks since 1970: The Role of College Costs, Family Background, and the Returns to Education," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(5), pages 878-911, October.
    7. Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
    8. Henderson, J. Vernon & Ioannides, Yannis M., 1989. "Dynamic aspects of consumer decisions in housing markets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 212-230, September.
    9. Jeremy C. Stein, 1993. "Prices and Trading Volume in the Housing Market: A Model with Downpayment Effects," NBER Working Papers 4373, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Haurin, Donald R. & Lee, Kyubang, 1989. "A structural model of the demand for owner-occupied housing," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 348-360, November.
    11. Goodman, Allen C., 1988. "An econometric model of housing price, permanent income, tenure choice, and housing demand," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 327-353, May.
    12. Green, Richard K. & White, Michelle J., 1997. "Measuring the Benefits of Homeowning: Effects on Children," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 441-461, May.
    13. Quigley, John M, 1987. "Interest Rate Variations, Mortgage Prepayments and Household Mobility," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 69(4), pages 636-643, November.
    14. Deng, Yongheng & Quigley, John M. & Van Order, Robert & Mac, Freddie, 1996. "Mortgage default and low downpayment loans: The costs of public subsidy," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3-4), pages 263-285, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Dietz, Robert D. & Haurin, Donald R., 2003. "The social and private micro-level consequences of homeownership," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 401-450, November.
    2. Josep Raya & Jaume Garcia, 2012. "Which Are the Real Determinants of Tenure? A Comparative Analysis of Different Models of the Tenure Choice of a House," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(16), pages 3645-3662, December.
    3. Gatzlaff, Dean H. & Haurin, Donald R., 1998. "Sample Selection and Biases in Local House Value Indices," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 199-222, March.
    4. Javier A. Barrios Garcia & Jose E. Rodriguez Hernandez, 2004. "User Cost Changes, Unemployment and Home-ownership: Evidence from Spain," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 41(3), pages 563-578, March.
    5. Haurin, Donald R. & Gill, H. Leroy, 2002. "The Impact of Transaction Costs and the Expected Length of Stay on Homeownership," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 563-584, May.
    6. Justo Manrique & Kalu Ojah, 2003. "The demand for housing in Spain: an endogenous switching regression analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(3), pages 323-336.
    7. Gerardi Kristopher & Willen Paul, 2009. "Subprime Mortgages, Foreclosures, and Urban Neighborhoods," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 9(3), pages 1-37, March.
    8. Fidel Ezeala-Harrison & Glenda Glover & Jane Shaw-Jackson, 2008. "Housing Loan Patterns Toward Minority Borrowers in Mississippi: Analysis of Some Micro Data Evidence of Redlining," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 35(1), pages 43-54, March.
    9. 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.
    10. Steven C. Bourassa & Donald R. Haurin & R. Jean Haurin & Patric H. Hendershott, 1994. "Independent Living and Home Ownership: An Analysis of Australian Youth," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 27(3), pages 29-44, July.
    11. Sewin Chan, 1995. "Residential Mobility and Mortgages," NBER Working Papers 5181, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Coulson, N. Edward & Dalton, Maurice, 2010. "Temporal and ethnic decompositions of homeownership rates: Synthetic cohorts across five censuses," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 155-166, September.
    13. M. Colom & M. Molés, 2013. "Housing and labor decisions of households," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 55-82, March.
    14. Richard K. Green & Bingbing Wang, 2015. "Housing Tenure and Unemployment," Working Paper 9474, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    15. Collins, William J. & Margo, Robert A., 2003. "Race and the value of owner-occupied housing, 1940-1990," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 255-286, May.
    16. Isaac F. Megbolugbe & Peter D. Linneman, 1993. "Home Ownership," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 30(4-5), pages 659-682, May.
    17. Gary Painter, 2000. "Tenure Choice with Sample Selection: A Note on the Differences among Alternative Samples," Working Paper 8647, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    18. Lee, Kwan Ok & Painter, Gary, 2013. "What happens to household formation in a recession?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 93-109.
    19. Jie Chen, 2013. "Housing tenure, residential mobility and adolescents’ education achievement: evidence from Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 50(1), pages 275-294, February.
    20. Judith Yates, 2000. "Is Australia's Home-ownership Rate Really Stable? An Examination of Change between 1975 and 1994," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 37(2), pages 319-342, February.

    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:sae:urbstu:v:38:y:2001:i:9:p:1509-1520. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    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.