IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izapps/pp203.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Global Housing Affordability Crisis: Policy Options and Strategies

Author

Listed:
  • Saiz, Albert

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Abstract

Housing prices are rising faster than incomes in many areas of the world, reducing well-being and engendering social discontent. Passivity by municipal and national governments is no longer an option. In this essay, I will describe the tradeoffs between different housing policy objectives of governments and the public. I suggest that policy goals should be made explicit, and their tradeoffs acknowledged. Due to the durable impact of real estate development, housing and land-use policies should seek broad inter-partisan consensus. To avoid pernicious general equilibrium effects and because of limited public resources, subsidies ought to be carefully targeted. I will describe the thirty major economic strategies underpinning housing policies worldwide and discuss their main advantages and caveats. Effective housing programs must skillfully deploy a combination of these basic economic strategies, as I will illustrate through several global case studies. Programs should be carefully designed to anticipate behavioral responses from individuals, firms, governments, and markets. Unideological and professional implementation is critical for their success.

Suggested Citation

  • Saiz, Albert, 2023. "The Global Housing Affordability Crisis: Policy Options and Strategies," IZA Policy Papers 203, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izapps:pp203
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/pp203.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Akinci, Ozge & Olmstead-Rumsey, Jane, 2018. "How effective are macroprudential policies? An empirical investigation," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 33-57.
    2. Badarinza, Cristian & Ramadorai, Tarun, 2018. "Home away from home? Foreign demand and London house prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(3), pages 532-555.
    3. Cerutti, Eugenio & Dagher, Jihad & Dell'Ariccia, Giovanni, 2017. "Housing finance and real-estate booms: A cross-country perspective," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1-13.
    4. Casey Dawkins, 2013. "The Spatial Pattern of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Properties: Implications for Fair Housing and Poverty Deconcentration Policies," Journal of the American Planning Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 79(3), pages 222-234, July.
    5. Bratu, Cristina & Harjunen, Oskari & Saarimaa, Tuukka, 2023. "JUE Insight: City-wide effects of new housing supply: Evidence from moving chains," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    6. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren, 2018. "The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility I: Childhood Exposure Effects," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(3), pages 1107-1162.
    7. Rhys Andrews & George A. Boyne & Gareth Enticott, 2006. "Performance failure in the public sector," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 273-296, June.
    8. Eric Chyn & Lawrence F. Katz, 2021. "Neighborhoods Matter: Assessing the Evidence for Place Effects," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(4), pages 197-222, Fall.
    9. Agarwal, Sumit & Chomsisengphet, Souphala & Liu, Chunlin & Song, Changcheng & Souleles, Nicholas S., 2018. "Benefits of relationship banking: Evidence from consumer credit markets," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 16-32.
    10. David H. Autor & Christopher J. Palmer & Parag A. Pathak, 2014. "Housing Market Spillovers: Evidence from the End of Rent Control in Cambridge, Massachusetts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 122(3), pages 661-717.
    11. Manuel B. Aalbers & Jannes Van Loon & Rodrigo Fernandez, 2017. "The Financialization of A Social Housing Provider," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(4), pages 572-587, July.
    12. Brueckner, Jan K., 1997. "Infrastructure financing and urban development:: The economics of impact fees," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(3), pages 383-407, December.
    13. Peter Bergman & Raj Chetty & Stefanie DeLuca & Nathaniel Hendren & Lawrence F. Katz & Christopher Palmer, 2024. "Creating Moves to Opportunity: Experimental Evidence on Barriers to Neighborhood Choice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(5), pages 1281-1337, May.
    14. Alberto F. Ades & Edward L. Glaeser, 1995. "Trade and Circuses: Explaining Urban Giants," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(1), pages 195-227.
    15. Bertaud, Alain & Malpezzi, Stephen, 2001. "Measuring the Costs and Benefits of Urban Land Use Regulation: A Simple Model with an Application to Malaysia," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 393-418, September.
    16. Bardhan, Ashok Deo & Edelstein, Robert H. & Leung, Charles, 2004. "A note on globalization and urban residential rents," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(3), pages 505-513, November.
    17. Xavier de Souza Briggs & Kadija S. Ferryman & Susan J. Popkin & María Rendón, 2008. "Why did the moving to opportunity experiment not get young people into better schools?," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(1), pages 53-91, January.
    18. Raj Chetty, 2015. "Behavioral Economics and Public Policy: A Pragmatic Perspective," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 1-33, May.
    19. Caldera, Aida & Johansson, Åsa, 2013. "The price responsiveness of housing supply in OECD countries," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 231-249.
    20. Baum-Snow, Nathaniel & Marion, Justin, 2009. "The effects of low income housing tax credit developments on neighborhoods," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(5-6), pages 654-666, June.
    21. Deven Carlson & Robert Haveman & Thomas Kaplan & Barbara Wolfe, 2011. "The benefits and costs of the Section 8 housing subsidy program: A framework and estimates of first‐year effects," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 233-255, March.
    22. Ellen, Ingrid G. & Horn, Keren M. & O'Regan, Katherine M., 2016. "Poverty concentration and the Low Income Housing Tax Credit: Effects of siting and tenant composition," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 49-59.
    23. Pablo Casas-Arce & Albert Saiz, 2010. "Owning versus Renting: Do Courts Matter?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 53(1), pages 137-165, February.
    24. Steven Bourassa & Martin Hoesli, 2010. "Why Do the Swiss Rent?," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 286-309, April.
    25. Rebecca Diamond & Tim McQuade & Franklin Qian, 2019. "The Effects of Rent Control Expansion on Tenants, Landlords, and Inequality: Evidence from San Francisco," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(9), pages 3365-3394, September.
    26. Simon Alder & Lin Shao & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2016. "Economic reforms and industrial policy in a panel of Chinese cities," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 305-349, December.
    27. Chinn, Menzie D. & Ito, Hiro, 2007. "Current account balances, financial development and institutions: Assaying the world "saving glut"," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 546-569, June.
    28. Robert M. Buckley & Jerry Kalarickal, 2006. "Thirty Years of World Bank Shelter Lending : What Have We Learned?," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7061.
    29. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren, 2018. "The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility II: County-Level Estimates," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(3), pages 1163-1228.
    30. Benjamin, John D & Chinloy, Peter & Sirmans, G Stacey, 2000. "Housing Vouchers, Tenant Quality, and Apartment Values," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 37-48, January.
    31. Charles Ka Yui Leung & Joe Cho Yiu Ng & Edward Chi Ho Tang, 2020. "What do we know about housing supply? The case of Hong Kong SAR," Economic and Political Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(1), pages 6-20, January.
    32. Dehring, Carolyn A. & Depken II, Craig A. & Ward, Michael R., 2008. "A direct test of the homevoter hypothesis," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 155-170, July.
    33. Loic Chiquier & Michael Lea, 2009. "Housing Finance Policy in Emerging Markets," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2641.
    34. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Lawrence F. Katz, 2016. "The Effects of Exposure to Better Neighborhoods on Children: New Evidence from the Moving to Opportunity Experiment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(4), pages 855-902, April.
    35. Costas-Pérez, Elena & Solé-Ollé, Albert & Sorribas-Navarro, Pilar, 2012. "Corruption scandals, voter information, and accountability," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 469-484.
    36. Robert M. Buckley & Jerry Kalarickal, 2005. "Housing Policy in Developing Countries: Conjectures and Refutations," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 20(2), pages 233-257.
    37. Peter Boelhouwer, 2020. "The housing market in The Netherlands as a driver for social inequalities: proposals for reform," International Journal of Housing Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 447-456, July.
    38. Gregory Burge & Keith Ihlanfeldt, 2006. "The Effects Of Impact Fees On Multifamily Housing Construction," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(1), pages 5-23, February.
    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. Donner, Herman, 2024. "Youth Displacement in Rent-Controlled Housing: The Consequences of Housing Queues," Working Paper Series 24/6, Royal Institute of Technology, Department of Real Estate and Construction Management & Banking and Finance, revised 12 Dec 2024.
    2. Charles Ka Yui Leung, 2023. "Real Estate Market," ISER Discussion Paper 1225, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    3. Peter Dreier & Seva Rodnyansky, 2024. "Earned Income Tax Credit Plus: A New Way to House the Working Poor," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9.

    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. Chapelle, Guillaume & Domènech Arumí, Gerard & Gobbi, Paula Eugenia, 2023. "Housing, Neighborhoods and Inequality," CEPR Discussion Papers 17969, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Tamar Ramot-Nyska, 2023. "Changing Residential Mobility Considerations: The Case of Public Housing in Israel," Bank of Israel Working Papers 2023.15, Bank of Israel.
    3. Christian A. L. Hilber & Olivier Schoni, 2022. "Housing policy and affordable housing," CEP Occasional Papers 56, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Chong Lu, 2022. "The effect of migration on rural residents’ intergenerational subjective social status mobility in China," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3279-3308, October.
    5. Nicholas Chiumenti & Amrita Kulka & Aradhya Sood, 2022. "How to Increase Housing Affordability: Understanding Local Deterrents to Building Multifamily Housing," Working Papers 22-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    6. Adrien Bilal & Esteban Rossi‐Hansberg, 2021. "Location as an Asset," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(5), pages 2459-2495, September.
    7. Suzane Bellue, 2023. "Why Don’t Poor Families Move? A Spatial Equilibirum Analysis of Parental Decisions with Social Learning," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_472, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    8. Kiessling, Lukas, 2021. "How do parents perceive the returns to parenting styles and neighborhoods?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    9. Ning Jia & Raven Molloy & Christopher Smith & Abigail Wozniak, 2023. "The Economics of Internal Migration: Advances and Policy Questions," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 61(1), pages 144-180, March.
    10. Michael Bailey & Drew Johnston & Martin Koenen & Theresa Kuchler & Dominic Russel & Johannes Stroebel, 2022. "The Social Integration of International Migrants: Evidence from the Networks of Syrians in Germany," CESifo Working Paper Series 9680, CESifo.
    11. Muñoz, Ercio, 2021. "Does it Matter Where You Grow up? Childhood Exposure Effects in Latin America and the Caribbean," Research Department working papers 1843, CAF Development Bank Of Latinamerica.
    12. Hanushek, Eric A. & Jacobs, Babs & Schwerdt, Guido & Van der Velden, Rolf & Vermeulen, Stan & Wiederhold, Simon, 2021. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Skills: An Investigation of the Causal Impact of Families on Student Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 14854, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. 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.
    14. Gyourko, Joseph & Molloy, Raven, 2015. "Regulation and Housing Supply," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1289-1337, Elsevier.
    15. Blanco, Hector & Neri, Lorenzo, 2023. "Knocking It Down and Mixing It Up: The Impact of Public Housing Regenerations," IZA Discussion Papers 15855, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Geon Kim & Seungbeom Kang, 2024. "Segregated by whom? Examining triple neighbourhood disadvantages and activity spaces in Seoul, South Korea," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    17. Lorenzo Neri, 2020. "Moving Opportunities: The Impact of Public Housing Re-generations on Student Achievement," Working Papers 907, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    18. Francisco Meneses, 2021. "Intergenerational Mobility After Expanding Educational Opportunities: A Quasi Experiment," Working Papers 586, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    19. Sezer, Ayse Hazal, 2024. "Historical and contemporary perspectives on labor," Other publications TiSEM 88c702e1-8259-4424-b68a-d, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    20. Overman, Henry G. & Xu, Xiaowei, 2024. "Spatial disparities across labour markets," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121453, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    real earnings; housing and family income; social policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs
    • R21 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Housing Demand
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:iza:izapps:pp203. 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: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    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.