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Homeownership, Asset-based Welfare and the Neighbourhood Segregation of Wealth

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  • Alan Walks

Abstract

The asset-based welfare approach, which has foremost encouraged homeownership, has led to rising homeownership rates, house prices and household debt levels. While this shift has helped raise the net worth of some among the middle and working classes who own property, the implications for the spatial distribution of wealth in cities have not yet been explored. This paper examines the spatial implications of the rise of policies promoting asset-based welfare, by examining statistically how variables related to homeownership rates and housing prices relate to measures of urban wealth segregation among neighbourhoods. Canadian cites are used as the main case study for the empirical analysis. The findings suggest that while homeownership in general has an equalizing effect, rising rates of homeownership (and to some extent, rising house prices) are associated not with greater spatial equalization and dispersal of wealth, but instead with greater spatial segregation and concentration of wealth within cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Walks, 2016. "Homeownership, Asset-based Welfare and the Neighbourhood Segregation of Wealth," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(7), pages 755-784, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:chosxx:v:31:y:2016:i:7:p:755-784
    DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2015.1132685
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vladimir Klyuev & Paul Mills, 2007. "Is Housing Wealth an “ATM”? The Relationship Between Household Wealth, Home Equity Withdrawal, and Saving Rates," IMF Staff Papers, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 54(3), pages 539-561, July.
    2. Drolet, Marie & Zhang, Xuelin & Morissette, Rene, 2002. "The Evolution of Wealth Inequality in Canada, 1984-1999," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2002187e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    3. Césaire Meh & Yaz Terajima & David Xiao Chen & Thomas J. Carter, 2009. "Household Debt, Assets, and Income in Canada: A Microdata Study," Discussion Papers 09-7, Bank of Canada.
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    1. Park, Gum-Ryeong & Grignon, Michel & Young, Marisa & Dunn, James R., 2022. "How do housing asset and income relate to mortality? A population-based cohort study of 881220 older adults in Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    2. Hulya Dagdeviren & Jiayi Balasuriya & Christopher Nicholas, 2022. "Spatial dynamics of post-crisis deleveraging [Financial geography II: financial geographies of housing and real estate]," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(6), pages 1225-1246.
    3. Zhang, Ping & Sun, Lin & Zhang, Chuanyong, 2021. "Understanding the role of homeownership in wealth inequality: Evidence from urban China (1995–2018)," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    4. Ilya Ilyankou & Andy Newing & Nick Hood, 2023. "Supermarket Store Locations as a Proxy for Neighbourhood Health, Wellbeing, and Wealth," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-12, July.
    5. Christine Wen & Jeremy L. Wallace, 2019. "Toward Human-Centered Urbanization? Housing Ownership and Access to Social Insurance Among Migrant Households in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-14, June.
    6. Hulya Dagdeviren & Ewa Karwowski, 2022. "Corrigendum to: Impasse or mutation? Austerity and (de)financialisation of local governments in Britain," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(3), pages 709-709.
    7. Lazar Ilic & M Sawada, 2021. "The temporal evolution of income polarization in Canada’s largest CMAs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-27, June.
    8. Antoine Paccoud, 2020. "The top tail of the property wealth distribution and the production of the residential environment," International Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 100-119, January.
    9. Walks, Alan, 2018. "Driving the poor into debt? Automobile loans, transport disadvantage, and automobile dependence," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 137-149.

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