IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/envira/v53y2021i3p480-502.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Breaking the housing–finance cycle: Macroeconomic policy reforms for more affordable homes

Author

Listed:
  • Josh Ryan-Collins

Abstract

This paper argues that the housing affordability and wealth inequality crises facing advanced economies are driven by the emergence of a feedback cycle between finance and landed property. The cycle has been created by the increasing policy preference for private home ownership coupled with the liberalization of bank credit and accompanying financial innovation. Under such conditions, landed property becomes both the most attractive form of collateral for the banking system and the most desirable form of financial asset for households and investors. The housing–finance cycle emerged in Anglo-Saxon economies in the 1980s but has since spread to most advanced economies. Demand-side reforms, more than the supply-side reforms that dominate policy discussion, are required to break this cycle. Two reforms are discussed: (a) structural and institutional reforms to banking systems, including central banks; and (b) land policy reforms targeted at reducing the potential for rent extraction and speculative profits from property ownership.

Suggested Citation

  • Josh Ryan-Collins, 2021. "Breaking the housing–finance cycle: Macroeconomic policy reforms for more affordable homes," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(3), pages 480-502, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:53:y:2021:i:3:p:480-502
    DOI: 10.1177/0308518X19862811
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0308518X19862811
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0308518X19862811?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2013. "Does High Home-Ownership Impair the Labor Market?," NBER Working Papers 19079, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Katharina Knoll & Moritz Schularick & Thomas Steger, 2017. "No Price Like Home: Global House Prices, 1870-2012," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(2), pages 331-353, February.
    3. Òscar Jordà & Moritz Schularick & Alan M. Taylor, 2017. "Macrofinancial History and the New Business Cycle Facts," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 31(1), pages 213-263.
    4. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2015. "New Theoretical Perspectives on the Distribution of Income and Wealth among Individuals: Part I. The Wealth Residual," NBER Working Papers 21189, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Laamanen, Jani-Petri, 2017. "Home-ownership and the Labour Market: Evidence from Rental Housing Market Deregulation," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 157-167.
    6. Hyman P. Minsky, 1975. "Financial Resources in a Fragile Financial Environment," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(3), pages 6-13, July.
    7. Ryan-Collins, Josh & Lloyd, Toby & Macfarlane, Laurie, 2017. "Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9781786991195, Febrero.
    8. Giovanni Favara & Jean Imbs, 2015. "Credit Supply and the Price of Housing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(3), pages 958-992, March.
    9. Allen N. Berger & Gregory F. Udell, 2002. "Small Business Credit Availability and Relationship Lending: The Importance of Bank Organisational Structure," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(477), pages 32-53, February.
    10. Mariana Mazzucato & Caetano C.R. Penna, 2016. "Beyond market failures: the market creating and shaping roles of state investment banks," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 305-326, October.
    11. Òscar Jordà & Moritz Schularick & Alan M. Taylor, 2016. "The great mortgaging: housing finance, crises and business cycles," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 31(85), pages 107-152.
    12. Avinash D. Persaud, 2016. "Breaking the Link between Housing Cycles, Banking Crises, and Recession," Policy Briefs PB16-3, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    13. Ricardo, David, 1821. "On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, edition 3, number ricardo1821.
    14. Callum Ward & Manuel B Aalbers, 2016. "Virtual special issue editorial essay: ‘The shitty rent business’: What’s the point of land rent theory?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(9), pages 1760-1783, July.
    15. Kevin Fox Gotham, 2009. "Creating Liquidity out of Spatial Fixity: The Secondary Circuit of Capital and the Subprime Mortgage Crisis," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(2), pages 355-371, June.
    16. Cerutti, Eugenio & Claessens, Stijn & Laeven, Luc, 2017. "The use and effectiveness of macroprudential policies: New evidence," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 203-224.
    17. Altunbas, Yener & Evans, Lynne & Molyneux, Philip, 2001. "Bank Ownership and Efficiency," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 33(4), pages 926-954, November.
    18. Matsaganis, Manos & Flevotomou, Maria, 2007. "The impact of mortgage interest tax relief in the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Italy and Greece," EUROMOD Working Papers EM2/07, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    19. Kelly, Robert & McCann, Fergal & O’Toole, Conor, 2018. "Credit conditions, macroprudential policy and house prices," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 153-167.
    20. John V. Duca & John Muellbauer & Anthony Murphy, 2011. "House Prices and Credit Constraints: Making Sense of the US Experience," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(552), pages 533-551, May.
    21. Robert G. King & Ross Levine, 1993. "Finance and Growth: Schumpeter Might Be Right," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 717-737.
    22. Manuel B. Aalbers, 2017. "The Variegated Financialization of Housing," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 542-554, July.
    23. Dan Andrews & Aida Caldera Sánchez & Åsa Johansson, 2011. "Housing Markets and Structural Policies in OECD Countries," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 836, OECD Publishing.
    24. Mr. John Norregaard, 2013. "Taxing Immovable Property Revenue Potential and Implementation Challenges," IMF Working Papers 2013/129, International Monetary Fund.
    25. Bezemer, Dirk & Samarina, Anna & Zhang, Lu, 2017. "The Shift in Bank Credit Allocation: New Data and New Findings," Research Report 17012-GEM, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    26. Vittas, Dimitri & Wang, Bo, 1991. "Credit policies in Japan and Korea : a review of the literature," Policy Research Working Paper Series 747, The World Bank.
    27. Janine Aron & John V. Duca & John Muellbauer & Keiko Murata & Anthony Murphy, 2012. "Credit, Housing Collateral, And Consumption: Evidence From Japan, The U.K., And The U.S," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 58(3), pages 397-423, September.
    28. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2015. "New Theoretical Perspectives on the Distribution of Income and Wealth among Individuals: Part II: Equilibrium Wealth Distributions," NBER Working Papers 21190, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    29. Raquel Rolnik, 2013. "Late Neoliberalism: The Financialization of Homeownership and Housing Rights," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(3), pages 1058-1066, May.
    30. Bezemer, Dirk & Samarina, Anna & Zhang, Lu, 2017. "The Shift in Bank Credit Allocation: New Data and New Findings," Research Report 17012-GEM, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    31. Christian A. L. Hilber & Tracy M. Turner, 2014. "The Mortgage Interest Deduction and its Impact on Homeownership Decisions," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(4), pages 618-637, October.
    32. Jens Matthias Arnold & Bert Brys & Christopher Heady & Åsa Johansson & Cyrille Schwellnus & Laura Vartia, 2011. "Tax Policy for Economic Recovery and Growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(550), pages 59-80, February.
    33. Michael Hudson, 2010. "The Transition from Industrial Capitalism to a Financialized Bubble Economy," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_627, Levy Economics Institute.
    34. Edward L. Glaeser & Joseph Gyourko & Raven E. Saks, 2005. "Why Have Housing Prices Gone Up?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 95(2), pages 329-333, May.
    35. Richard A. Werner, 2005. "New Paradigm in Macroeconomics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-50607-7, March.
    36. J Coakley, 1994. "The Integration of Property and Financial Markets," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 26(5), pages 697-713, May.
    37. Levy Yeyati, Eduardo & Micco, Alejandro & Panizza, Ugo, 2004. "Should the Government Be in the Banking Business?: The Role of State-Owned and Development Banks," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 1543, Inter-American Development Bank.
    38. Dirk Bezemer, 2014. "Schumpeter might be right again: the functional differentiation of credit," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 935-950, November.
    39. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2015. "New Theoretical Perspectives on the Distribution of Income and Wealth among Individuals: Part IV: Land and Credit," NBER Working Papers 21192, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    40. Hansjörg Blöchliger, 2015. "Reforming the Tax on Immovable Property: Taking Care of the Unloved," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1205, OECD Publishing.
    41. Glaeser, Edward L. & Gyourko, Joseph & Saiz, Albert, 2008. "Housing supply and housing bubbles," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 198-217, September.
    42. Dirk Bezemer & Maria Grydaki & Lu Zhang, 2016. "More Mortgages, Lower Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(1), pages 652-674, January.
    43. Megginson, William L., 2005. "The economics of bank privatization," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(8-9), pages 1931-1980, August.
    44. John Muellbauer, 2018. "Housing, Debt and the Economy: A Tale of Two Countries," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 245(1), pages 20-33, August.
    45. McLeay, Michael & Radia, Amar & Thomas, Ryland, 2014. "Money creation in the modern economy," Bank of England Quarterly Bulletin, Bank of England, vol. 54(1), pages 14-27.
    46. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Uy, Marilou, 1996. "Financial Markets, Public Policy, and the East Asian Miracle," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 11(2), pages 249-276, August.
    47. Stiglitz, Joseph E & Weiss, Andrew, 1981. "Credit Rationing in Markets with Imperfect Information," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(3), pages 393-410, June.
    48. repec:hal:pseose:hal-01301589 is not listed on IDEAS
    49. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2015. "New Theoretical Perspectives on the Distribution of Income and Wealth among Individuals: Part III: Life Cycle Savings vs. Inherited Savings," NBER Working Papers 21191, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    50. Michael Hudson & Dirk Bezemer, 2012. "Incorporating the Rentier Sectors into a Financial Model," World Economic Review, World Economics Association, vol. 2012(1), pages 1-1, September.
    51. Ferri, Giovanni & Kalmi, Panu & Kerola, Eeva, 2014. "Does bank ownership affect lending behavior? Evidence from the Euro area," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 194-209.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. zu Ermgassen, Sophus & Drewniok, Michal & Bull, Joseph & Walker, Christine Corlet & Mancini, Mattia & Ryan-Collins, Josh & Serrenho, André Cabrera, 2022. "A home for all within planetary boundaries: pathways for meeting England’s housing needs without transgressing national climate and biodiversity goals," OSF Preprints 5kxce, Center for Open Science.
    2. Martijn Konings & Lisa Adkins & Dallas Rogers, 2021. "The institutional logic of property inflation," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 53(3), pages 448-456, May.
    3. Richard Bärnthaler & Andreas Novy & Lea Arzberger & Astrid Krisch & Hans Volmary, 2024. "The power to transform structures: power complexes and the challenges for realising a wellbeing economy," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    4. zu Ermgassen, Sophus O.S.E. & Drewniok, Michal P. & Bull, Joseph W. & Corlet Walker, Christine M. & Mancini, Mattia & Ryan-Collins, Josh & Cabrera Serrenho, André, 2022. "A home for all within planetary boundaries: Pathways for meeting England's housing needs without transgressing national climate and biodiversity goals," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 201(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Josh Ryan‐Collins, 2021. "Private Landed Property and Finance: A Checkered History," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 80(2), pages 465-502, March.
    2. Luigi Bonatti, 2017. "Land, Housing, Growth and Inequality," DEM Working Papers 2017/01, Department of Economics and Management.
    3. Bezemer, Dirk & Samarina, Anna & Zhang, Lu, 2020. "Does mortgage lending impact business credit? Evidence from a new disaggregated bank credit data set," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    4. Carpantier, Jean-Francois & Olivera, Javier & Van Kerm, Philippe, 2018. "Macroprudential policy and household wealth inequality," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 262-277.
    5. Kumhof, Michael & Tideman, Nicolaus & Hudson, Michael & Goodhart, Charles, 2021. "Post-Corona Balanced-Budget Super-Stimulus: The Case for Shifting Taxes onto Land," CEPR Discussion Papers 16652, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    6. D'Orazio, Paola, 2019. "Income inequality, consumer debt, and prudential regulation: An agent-based approach to study the emergence of crises and financial instability," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 308-331.
    7. Luigi Bonatti, 2016. "Anemic economic growth in advanced economies: structural factors and the impotence of expansionary macroeconomic policies," DEM Working Papers 2016/11, Department of Economics and Management.
    8. Zhai, Kun & Zhao, Guoqing & Li, Ding, 2023. "Macroprudential policy and household wealth inequality: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    9. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/56k383m9o9kpb1g6f8rvv74ok is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Gianni La Cava, 2016. "Housing prices, mortgage interest rates and the rising share of capital income in the United States," BIS Working Papers 572, Bank for International Settlements.
    11. Kim, Dong-Hyeon & Lin, Shu-Chin, 2023. "Income inequality, inflation and financial development," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 468-487.
    12. Dirk Bezemer & Anna Samarina, 2019. "Debt shift, financial development and income inequality," DNB Working Papers 646, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    13. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1eob9f9aas9q18hfjsiqhggvi2 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Odran Bonnet & Guillaume Flamerie de la Chapelle & Alain Trannoy & Etienne Wasmer, 2019. "Secular trends in Wealth and Heterogeneous Capital: Land is back...and should be taxed," SciencePo Working papers hal-03541411, HAL.
    15. Bonnet, Odran & Chapelle, Guillaume & Trannoy, Alain & Wasmer, Etienne, 2021. "Land is back, it should be taxed, it can be taxed," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    16. Bofinger, Peter & Geißendörfer, Lisa & Haas, Thomas & Mayer, Fabian, 2021. "Discovering the True Schumpeter - New Insights into the Finance and Growth Nexus," CEPR Discussion Papers 16851, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    17. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2016. "The Theory of Credit and Macro-economic Stability," NBER Working Papers 22837, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Engelbert Stockhammer & Christina Wolf, 2019. "Building blocks for the macroeconomics and political economy of housing," Japanese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1-2), pages 43-67, April.
    19. Jiang, Meishan & Paudel, Krishna P. & Mi, Yunsheng & Li, Jingrong, 2023. "Farmland transfer and rural financial structure: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    20. Palagi, Elisa & Napoletano, Mauro & Roventini, Andrea & Gaffard, Jean-Luc, 2023. "An agent-based model of trickle-up growth and income inequality," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    21. Odran Bonnet & Guillaume Flamerie de La Chapelle & Alain Trannoy & Etienne Wasmer, 2019. "Secular trends in Wealth and Heterogeneous Capital: Land is back...and should be taxed," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03541411, HAL.
    22. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2017. "Macro-economic Management in an Electronic Credit/Financial System," NBER Working Papers 23032, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:envira:v:53:y:2021:i:3:p:480-502. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.