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Affordable Housing and City Welfare

Author

Listed:
  • Jack Favilukis
  • Pierre Mabille
  • Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh

Abstract

Housing affordability is the main policy challenge for most large cities in the world. Zoning changes, rent control, housing vouchers, and tax credits are the main levers employed by policymakers. How effective are they at combatting the affordability crisis? We build a dynamic stochastic spatial equilibrium model to evaluate the effect of these policies on the well-being of its citizens. The model endogenizes house prices, rents, construction, labour supply, output, income, and wealth inequality, the location decisions of households within the city as well as inter-city migration. Its main novel features are risk, risk aversion, and incomplete risk-sharing. We calibrate the model to the New York metropolitan statistical area. Housing affordability policies carry substantial insurance value but affect aggregate housing and labour supply and cause misallocation in labour and housing markets. Housing affordability policies that enhance access to this insurance especially for the neediest households create substantial net welfare gains.

Suggested Citation

  • Jack Favilukis & Pierre Mabille & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2023. "Affordable Housing and City Welfare," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(1), pages 293-330.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:90:y:2023:i:1:p:293-330.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdac024
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    Cited by:

    1. Charles Ka Yui Leung & Joe Cho Yiu Ng, 2018. "Macro Aspects of Housing," GRU Working Paper Series GRU_2018_016, City University of Hong Kong, Department of Economics and Finance, Global Research Unit.
    2. Grossmann, Volker & Larin, Benjamin & Löfflad, Hans Torben & Steger, Thomas, 2021. "Distributional consequences of surging housing rents," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    3. Howard, Greg & Liebersohn, Jack & Ozimek, Adam, 2023. "The short- and long-run effects of remote work on U.S. housing markets," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(1), pages 166-184.
    4. Molloy, Raven & Nathanson, Charles G. & Paciorek, Andrew, 2022. "Housing supply and affordability: Evidence from rents, housing consumption and household location," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    5. Seltzer, Lee, 2024. "Effects of financing constraints on maintenance investments in rent-stabilized apartments," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    6. Chen, Ruoyu & Jiang, Hanchen & Quintero, Luis E., 2023. "Measuring the value of rent stabilization and understanding its implications for racial inequality: Evidence from New York City," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    7. David Mazáček, 2023. "Concepts of Housing Affordability Measurements," FFA Working Papers 5.008, Prague University of Economics and Business, revised 13 Sep 2023.
    8. Gong, Yifan & Leung, Charles Ka Yui, 2024. "Does space matter? The case of the housing expenditure cap," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    9. Gupta, Arpit & Mittal, Vrinda & Peeters, Jonas & Van Nieuwerburgh, Stijn, 2022. "Flattening the curve: Pandemic-Induced revaluation of urban real estate," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(2), pages 594-636.
    10. William N Goetzmann & Christophe Spaenjers & Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2021. "Real and Private-Value Assets [Gendered prices]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(8), pages 3497-3526.
    11. Jennifer Buurma-Olsen & Jort Sinninghe Damsté, 2023. "Quantifying Misallocation of Public Housing," CPB Discussion Paper 454, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    12. Brian Asquith & Evan Mast & Davin Reed, 2019. "Supply Shock Versus Demand Shock: The Local Effects of New Housing in Low-Income Areas," Upjohn Working Papers 19-316, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    13. Antonia Díaz & Álvaro Jáñez & Felix Wellschmied, 2023. "Geographic Mobility Over the Life-cycle," Documentos de Trabajo del ICAE 2023-01, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Empresariales, Instituto Complutense de Análisis Económico.
    14. Rainald Borck & Niklas Gohl, 2021. "Gentrification and Affordable Housing Policies," CESifo Working Paper Series 9454, CESifo.
    15. Delventhal, Matthew J. & Kwon, Eunjee & Parkhomenko, Andrii, 2022. "JUE Insight: How do cities change when we work from home?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    16. Volker Grossmann & Benjamin Larin & Hans Torben Löfflad & Thomas Steger, 2019. "Distributional effects of surging housing costs under Schwabe's Law," CESifo Working Paper Series 7684, CESifo.
    17. Ryan Greenaway-McGrevy & Gail Pacheco & Kade Sorensen, 2021. "The effect of upzoning on house prices and redevelopment premiums in Auckland, New Zealand," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 58(5), pages 959-976, April.
    18. Dirección General de Economía y Estadística, 2020. "El mercado de la vivienda en España entre 2014 y 2019," Occasional Papers 2013, Banco de España.
    19. Jofre-Monseny, Jordi & Martínez-Mazza, Rodrigo & Segú, Mariona, 2023. "Effectiveness and supply effects of high-coverage rent control policies," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    20. Reher, Michael, 2021. "Finance and the supply of housing quality," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 357-376.
    21. Greenaway-McGrevy, Ryan & Phillips, Peter C.B., 2023. "The impact of upzoning on housing construction in Auckland," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    22. Garison Kiprotich & Isaiah Kimutai & Stephen Kimutai, 2023. "Performance Evaluation of Sand Screening Machine: Effect of Sieve Size and Moisture Content," International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science, International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS), vol. 12(09), pages 126-132, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dynamic spatial equilibrium; House prices; Affordable housing; Rent regulation; Zoning; Housing vouchers; Tax credits; Gentrification; Migration;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • E6 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H76 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Other Expenditure Categories
    • R1 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics
    • R13 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General Equilibrium and Welfare Economic Analysis of Regional Economies
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
    • R28 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Government Policy

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