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Stimulating Housing Policy and Housing Tenure Choice: Evidence from the G7 Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Eugeniya Malinskaya
  • Konstantin A. Kholodilin

Abstract

Housing affordability is a hotly debated issue on global scale. A lack of affordable housing of decent quality is a chronic problem in urban areas. Governments try to alleviate it by stimulating homeownership among middle-income households and providing social housing for the low-income households. Such policies are very costly. Thus, this study aims to assess at least tentatively the effectiveness of the policies supporting construction of affordable housing. We do this using a novel index of the governmental support of affordable housing construction. It covers G7 countries between 1919 and 2020. We conclude from our empirical analysis that governmental policy indeed positively affects homeownership rates and social housing rates. Thus, the government can contribute to the provision of the affordable housing, although the cost of this policy cannot be quantified yet.

Suggested Citation

  • Eugeniya Malinskaya & Konstantin A. Kholodilin, 2022. "Stimulating Housing Policy and Housing Tenure Choice: Evidence from the G7 Countries," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1997, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1997
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • K25 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Real Estate Law
    • R38 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Government Policy
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation

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