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Housing Allowance and the Rent of Low‐income Households

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  • Aki Kangasharju

Abstract

This paper analyses the effect of a housing allowance programme on the rent paid by assisted low‐income households. The data consist of 12,000 rental households in the free‐market and municipal sectors. The effect is estimated using the programme reform of 2002 as an instrument. The reform increased the allowance of the assisted households depending on housing characteristics, but it had little effect on the eligibility. Results suggest that in the private sector, one additional euro of allowance increases the rent of claimants by 60–70 cents. The effect is zero in the municipal sector, as rents are tied to the housing costs.

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  • Aki Kangasharju, 2010. "Housing Allowance and the Rent of Low‐income Households," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(3), pages 595-617, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:112:y:2010:i:3:p:595-617
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9442.2010.01615.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Figari, Francesco & Hollan, Katarina & Matsaganis, Manos & Zolyomi, Eszter, 2019. "Recent changes in housing policies and their distributional impact across Europe," EUROMOD Working Papers EM12/19, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    2. Gibbons, Stephen & Sanchez-Vidal, Maria & Silva, Olmo, 2020. "The bedroom tax," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Van Ommeren, Jos & Koopman, Marnix, 2011. "Public housing and the value of apartment quality to households," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 207-213, May.
    4. Essi Eerola & Teemu Lyytikäinen, 2021. "Housing Allowance and Rents: Evidence from a Stepwise Subsidy Scheme," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(1), pages 84-109, January.
    5. Chen, Mengkai & Liu, Tong & Wang, Xianzhu, 2024. "The effect of the housing provident fund on housing affordability in Urban China: A quantitative analysis," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 1-11.
    6. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2011_011 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Céline Grislain-Letrémy & Corentin Trevien, 2022. "The Long-Term Impact of Housing Subsidies on the Rental Sector: the French Example," Working papers 886, Banque de France.
    8. Virén, Matti, 2011. "Does housing allowance feed through into rental prices?," Research Discussion Papers 11/2011, Bank of Finland.
    9. Sayag, Doron & Zussman, Noam, 2020. "Who benefits from rental assistance? Evidence from a natural experiment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Corentin Trevien, 2016. "Four essays in empirical urban economics : evaluation of French regional policies [Quatre essais en économie urbaine empirique : évaluation de politiques d'aménagement du territoire]," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-03498772, HAL.
    11. Hyslop, Dean R. & Rea, David, 2019. "Do housing allowances increase rents? Evidence from a discrete policy change," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    12. C. Grislain-Letrémy & C. Trevien, 2014. "The Impact of Housing Subsidies on the Rental Sector: the French Example," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers g2014-08, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.
    13. Virén, Matti, 2011. "Does housing allowance feed through into rental prices?," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 11/2011, Bank of Finland.
    14. Christophe André & Thomas Chalaux, 2018. "Building a typology of housing systems to inform policies in OECD and EU member States," Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE), issue 500-501-5, pages 13-36.
    15. Eerola, Essi & Lyytikäinen, Teemu & Saarimaa, Tuukka & Vanhapelto, Tuuli, 2022. "The Incidence of Housing Allowances: Quasi-Experimental Evidence," Working Papers 149, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    16. Braakmann, Nils & McDonald, Stephen, 2020. "Housing subsidies and property prices: Evidence from England," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Matti Viren, 2013. "Is the housing allowance shifted to rental prices?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 1497-1518, June.
    18. Doron Sayag & Noam Zussman, 2015. "The Distribution of Rental Assistance Between Tenants and Landlords:The Case of Students in Central Jerusalem," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2015.01, Bank of Israel.
    19. Corentin Trevien, 2016. "Four essays in empirical urban economics : evaluation of French regional policies [Quatre essais en économie urbaine empirique : évaluation de politiques d'aménagement du territoire]," SciencePo Working papers tel-03498772, HAL.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand

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