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Housing Allowance and Rents: Evidence from a Stepwise Subsidy Scheme

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  • Essi Eerola
  • Teemu Lyytikäinen

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effect of housing demand subsidies on rents using discontinuities in the Finnish housing allowance system as a quasi‐experimental setting. The stepwise dependence of housing allowance on the floor area of the dwelling and on the year of construction of the building causes economically and statistically significant discontinuities in the amounts of housing allowances. However, our results show that there are no discontinuities in the rents paid by the recipients of housing allowance at these cut‐offs. Instead, differences in the amounts of housing allowance are translated roughly one‐to‐one into differences in the rent net of housing allowance.

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  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:123:y:2021:i:1:p:84-109
    DOI: 10.1111/sjoe.12396
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    10. Gibbons, Stephen & Sanchez-Vidal, Maria & Silva, Olmo, 2020. "The bedroom tax," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. Kalin, Salla & Kyyrä, Tomi & Matikka, Tuomas, 2023. "Combining Part-time Work and Social Benefits: Empirical Evidence from Finland," Working Papers 159, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Eerola, Essi & Saarimaa, Tuukka, 2018. "Delivering affordable housing and neighborhood quality: A comparison of place- and tenant-based programs," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 44-54.
    4. Alexander Daminger, 2021. "Subsidies to Homeownership and Central City Rent," Working Papers 210, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    5. Dean Hyslop & David Maré, 2022. "The impact of the 2018 Families Package Accommodation Supplement area changes on housing outcomes," Working Papers 22_01, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    6. Raya, Josep Maria & Torres-Pruñonosa, Jose, 2022. "The importance of administrative data in the evaluation of the incidence of social housing allowance programmes," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    7. 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.

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    JEL classification:

    • H22 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Incidence

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