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The enormous growth in house prices in Europe since the 1990s has led to increasing concerns about the affordability of housing for ordinary citizens. This article explores the relationship between housing affordability – house prices relative to incomes – and the demand for redistributive and housing policy, using data drawn from European and Brit...
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Context 1
... ISSP redistribution question, while commonly used, does have limitations -countries start from very different existing baselines of taxation and redistribution. In order to check our analyses of the relationship between affordability and economic left-right measures, in Appendix Table A1 we also examine a number of related dependent variablesparty choice, taxing the rich and views on inequality. ...Context 2
... this is an estimate, the estimated average level of homeownership produced in the ISSP 2006 sample is within 2 percentage points of that in the ISSP 2009. 9 Table 1 begins with our analysis of how housing affordability and homeownership affect redistributive preferences. Throughout our analyses of the ISSP we use multilevel linear models, with observations at the individual level, embedded within countries. ...Context 3
... we noted above, redistributive preferences may not fully account for attitudes along the left-right economic spectrum. In Table A1 in the Appendix we examine three different dependent variables that measure economic left-right preferences -first, vote choice (a five-point scale increasing to the right, drawn from the ISSP's party choice indicator); second, support for people with higher incomes paying a larger share in taxes (a five-point scale increasing in support); and third, agreeing with the statement that 'differences in income in [the respondent's country] are too large' (a five-point scale increasing in agreement). In all cases we examine the fifth model from the bottom two panels of Table 1-that is the interactive effect of house prices as a ratio of net income and homeownership. ...Context 4
... Table A1 in the Appendix we examine three different dependent variables that measure economic left-right preferences -first, vote choice (a five-point scale increasing to the right, drawn from the ISSP's party choice indicator); second, support for people with higher incomes paying a larger share in taxes (a five-point scale increasing in support); and third, agreeing with the statement that 'differences in income in [the respondent's country] are too large' (a five-point scale increasing in agreement). In all cases we examine the fifth model from the bottom two panels of Table 1-that is the interactive effect of house prices as a ratio of net income and homeownership. We see that homeowners in areas with higher unaffordability are more likely to support right-wing parties, less likely to think the rich should pay more in taxes and less likely to think income differences are too large. ...Context 5
... see that homeowners in areas with higher unaffordability are more likely to support right-wing parties, less likely to think the rich should pay more in taxes and less likely to think income differences are too large. Accordingly, we find ample support that the choice of the redistribution question in Table 1 is consistent with wider left-right attitudes. Table 2 uses the ISSP 2006 to examine the relationship between housing affordability, homeownership and attitudes towards government responsibility for housing. ...Context 6
... , Tables A1 and A2 in the Online Appendix show that the negative effects of housing cost relative Standard errors in parentheses. *p < 0.10, * * p < 0.05, * * * p < 0.01. to gross or net income at the regional level are robust to other regional controls including regional income, homeownership, income tax burden and housing burden, all taken from the EU-SILC. ...Similar publications
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Citations
... The availability of affordable housing in Europe decreased since the 1990s, leading to a growing concern. This reduction is a more significant trend of decreased state intervention in various social areas, particularly in developed economies [55]. Many developed countries' governments have implemented austerity measures in response to economic crises, resulting in significant cuts in public spending, including funds allocated for social housing. ...
The Circular Economy (CE) proposal aims to minimise waste and maximise the use of resources, making it crucial for providing social housing (SH). Incorporating CE principles into SH policies makes it possible to take significant steps towards a more sustainable and equitable future. The cooperative housing movement offers a solution for growing and empowering local communities to actively develop, own, and manage housing. In some cooperative housing projects, there is the opportunity to use the incremental construction process, which offers the flexibility to adapt construction to residents’ changing circumstances and needs over time. This study aims to verify how circular economy principles applied to incremental construction in case studies of cooperative housing can contribute to more sustainable solutions in the SH sector. By conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) of scientific databases, case studies of cooperative housings that intentionally or unintentionally incorporate the incremental construction tool into their foundations were selected. The analysis and discussions in the study highlight real possibilities for incorporating CE principles into cooperative housing models by appropriating the incremental construction tool.
... However, there is often a sorting mechanism at play regarding where individuals reside (see Cannon et al., 2023, p. 11), because individuallevel economic factors like income often determine where individuals reside (Couture et al., 2023;van Duijn & Rouwendal, 2021). The instrumental role of individual-level income is unsurprising, given that housing expenses take up a large share of individuals' expenditure (Ansell and Cansunar, 2021). ...
... That is, the prospect of income loss from unemployment may incentivize them to live in areas where they will not be pushed into further economic precarity should unemployment occur. This is especially so since housing expenses typically account for the lion's share of an individual or household's expenses (Ansell & Cansunar, 2021). Thus, individuals are likely to consider their economic vulnerability when deciding about housing, all things equal. ...
... Even though these individuals might (counter-intuitively) not always have pro-distribution attitudes (e.g. Ansell & Cansunar, 2020), political parties may look to compensate voters in these homeownership outsider groups by increasing welfare spending. ...
Fiscal policy allocation is not purely determined by the labour-capital conflict, but increasingly around cross-class housing coalitions. Although rising house prices are conventionally understood as drivers of fiscal austerity, this view has been challenged. Alternatively, governments may use fiscal policies to support house price growth to meet the primary economic interests of homeowners and compensate non-homeowners through the welfare system. Using an econometric analysis of 19 advanced economies between 1980 and 2018, we show house prices have positive effects on taxation revenue as well as fiscal spending on public investment, welfare and education. A second multi-level analysis provides a political explanation of this observed outcome by demonstrating parties respond to rising house prices by proposing more welfare and public investment spending in their manifestos. Conterminously rising house prices and rents also lead to greater welfare spending, suggesting governments use fiscal policy to protect those excluded from homeownership from labour market risks.
... The stark rise in house prices has not only led to macroeconomic fears about financial instability, but also directly affected the distribution of wealth in rich democracies. While many homeowners have seen massive gains in household wealth, renters-often marginalized social groups-are instead facing increasingly unaffordable rental markets (Ansell & Cansunar, 2021;Fuller et al., 2020;Bohle & Seabrooke, 2020;Anderson & Kurzer, 2020;Dewilde & Flynn, 2021). ...
... Even less is known about voters' housing policy preferences. Existing studies have necessarily relied on large-scale institutional surveys that tend to ask rather broad questions on housing, such as whether governments have a responsibility for providing decent housing for their populations (Ansell & Cansunar, 2021). A series of new studies have relied on custom surveys (Hankinson, 2018;Marble & Nall, 2021;O'Grady, 2020;Dancygier & Wiedemann, 2023; Hager their house-price perceptions and housing policy preferences-depend on voters' positioning in a country's institutional context. ...
... Scholars thus necessarily relied on rather broad items from such surveys. In an important study, Ansell and Cansunar (2021) find that homeowners tend to oppose government interventions that make housing more affordable, particularly in expensive areas. While their findings are convincing in the context of the available data, using institutional survey data on housing has limitations. ...
Little is known about voters' demands in response to dramatically rising house prices. We argue that voters' house-price perceptions and housing policy preferences depend on countries' differing economic institutions. In the UK's liberal welfare and credit regimes, we expect voters to view house-price growth as a comparatively positive sign for the economy and show little demand for policies restraining prices. In Germany's generous welfare and restrictive credit regimes, we expect voters to view house-price appreciation with more skepticism and demand policies restraining prices. First, through a custom survey, we experimentally demonstrate that British homeowners regard house-price growth as a sign of economic health, while German homeowners and renters from both countries do not. Second, we find that German voters, both homeowners and renters, support policies restraining house prices more so than their British equivalents. Our findings suggest that similar types of voters have different housing attitudes in differing institutional contexts.
... These housing classes do not only have disparate economic positions but also disparate class interests (Harvey, 1974). As many countries are dominated by an electoral majority of homeowners, who typically find themselves in higher social positions than renters, this makes them a powerful class interest group able to exercise electoral power to prioritize pro-homeownership and anti-welfare policies, such as redistribution through de-commodified housing while supporting high house prices to facilitate wealth accumulation (Ansell, 2014;André & Dewilde, 2016;Ansell & Cansunar, 2021). The result is a reproduction of a forceful ideology of homeownership (Ronald, 2008), promising not only financial security through owner-occupancy but also status, control, autonomy and other merits. ...
... Third, the findings hold relevance for the political economy of housing more broadly. Ample research in this field have studied how housing positions specifically tenure and (un)affordability, shape individuals' voting preferences (Ansell, 2014;André & Dewilde, 2016;Ansell & Cansunar, 2021). Other studies take a more macro approach, to understand, for example, how middle-class ideologies centered around private ownership and capital accumulation permeate political ideologies and manifestos (Ronald, 2008;Kohl, 2020) and subsequently shape and maintain housing policies (Aalbers, 2016;Adkins et al., 2021;Stellinga, 2022). ...
... Conversely, rising housing prices can increase the cost of homeownership and raise rental prices, potentially straining household budgets. Therefore, individuals who find it difficult to enter the housing market may be more likely to support government intervention in the housing market and redistributive policies (Ansell & Cansunar, 2021). ...
This study analyzed how attitudes toward welfare vary or align in Korean society based on the distribution of income and assets. It aimed to identify coalition structures based on income and asset combinations surrounding the current welfare system. The analysis revealed that regardless of income level, groups that have not accumulated sufficient assets are more likely to have positive attitudes when it comes to advocating the expansion of public welfare spending. However, with regard to redistributive policies aimed at addressing social vulnerability, it is evident that there is currently no group capable of forming a coalition with the low-income, low-asset group. Therefore, it can be predicted that in the process of reforming the social security system, an approach of universal welfare policies, providing benefits to the majority of citizens, coupled with additional benefits proportional to the taxes paid, may receive high levels of support.
... Several studies have, for instance, shown that, compared with renters, homeowners are more inclined to vote and are less supportive of redistributive social policies. Such polarization between renters and owners is stronger in more financialized contexts, or where house prices increased more strongly (André et al. 2017;André and Dewilde 2016;Ansell 2014;Ansell and Cansunar 2021). When houses become investments, homeowners mobilize their power resources to protect the value of their investments. ...
This chapter discusses recent developments in theory and research on housing and inequality. Housing-related inequalities have become a topic of public, political, and policy urgency. Its scientific discussion, however, remained isolated in internal debate among housing scholars that over time became somewhat
disconnected from (comparative) social stratification research and from broader discussions of financialization of the economy, politics, and capitalist development.
This, however, has changed drastically over the last decade. Reviewing literature from sociology, political science, and political economy, the authors start by arguing that revitalized interest in housing inequality in these latter fields has mostly paid attention to tenure inequalities, the politics of housing, and how housing relates to broader wealth inequalities. The chapter then locates these emerging topics within more long-standing developments in the comparative political economy of housing, representative for the field of housing studies. In tune with a sociological approach – understanding stratification (the creation of inequality) as a multidimensional process based on class (socioeconomic inequality), status, and power – housing is discussed not only in terms of resource inequality, tenure structure, and diverse housing outcomes, but also in terms of the drivers of inequalities in housing: evolving (tenure) relationships and social status differences. The conclusion points out several aspects that call for increased attention by housing inequality scholars.
... We contribute to these debates by advancing a thus far underexplored argument of rising rent burden as key to understanding contemporary PRR vote. Rising rents lie at the heart of growing concerns related to housing (un)affordability and (over)burden across Western democracies, directly affecting the economic and social well-being of substantial numbers of 1 Trinity College Dublin 2 Georgetown University citizens Ansell and Cansunar 2021;Inchauste et al. 2018). ...
... Our argument about rising rents adds important insights into scholarship on the politics of housing markets (e.g. Ansell and Cansunar 2021;Ansell et al. 2022;Ansell 2014;Patana 2022;Scheve and Slaughter 2001). We also refine understandings of the conditions under which economic factors shape PRR support (Abou-Chadi and Kurer 2021; Adler and Ansell 2020; Gidron and Hall 2020;Kurer 2020). ...
... Fears of asset depreciation may similarly make homeowners more anti-free trade and protectionist in areas with non-competitive industries (Scheve and Slaughter 2001). Growing unaffordability can also undermine demand for housing and redistributive policies and boost the conservative right among homeowners striving to keep appreciation high (Ansell and Cansunar 2021). ...
The recent successes of populist radical right (PRR) parties have caused major upheavals across European political landscapes. Yet, the roots of their rising popularity continue to be widely debated. We contribute to these debates by advancing a thus far underexplored argument of rising rent burden as key to understanding contemporary PRR vote and nativist attitudes. Rising rents lie at the heart of growing concerns related to housing (un)affordability and (over)burden across Western democracies, directly affecting the economic and social well-being of substantial numbers of citizens. PRR parties, we argue, stand to gain from politicizing such concerns in distinct economic and nativist terms, especially amidst challenges like the European refugee crisis, which provoked an urgent need to house unprecedented inflows of refugees. Drawing on individual-level panel data from Germany, we uncover a strong relationship between rising rents, PRR vote, and hostile attitudes toward refugees. In calling attention to rising rents, our study adds important insights into scholarship on the politics of housing markets not only from the perspective of home ownership and housing assets, but also rents. In so doing, we also refine understandings of the conditions under which economic factors shape PRR support
... Decades of real estate and infrastructure transactions aimed at improving the quality of life of urban residents have evolved into the current mix of high housing prices, transport networks where cars are the main means of transportation and scant allocation of green areas or amenity spaces in the main cities around the world (da Silva, 2018;Mejia-Dugand and Pizano-Castillo, 2020;Croese et al., 2021;Manfredi-Sanchez et al., 2021). This is added to the slow delivery of housing through housing subsidies and direct allocations or emergency operations that make the city an unattainable space, both socioeconomically as well as politically and in terms of social integration (Murphy, 2014;Ansell and Cansunar, 2021;Airgood-Obrycki et al., 2022;Singh, 2022). ...
Access to housing, more than an enforceable right, has become a multidimensional problem in Chile. Faced with the impossibility of obtaining housing through subsidies, informal settlements—camps and land grabs—have expanded through the country's different cities since 2019. Given the evident collision with the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular Goal 11) commitments to sustainable cities, the Chilean State has increased its housing budget since 2020 to reactivate investment during the COVID-19 pandemic and expand the housing access alternatives for lower-class families with few possibilities chances of obtaining a bank mortgage. But is it possible to choose housing in contexts like the one described? In addition to environmental difficulties, cities in northern Chile, wedged between the sea and the desert, need to produce a socially sustainable environment in accordance with the requirements of complex, dynamic systems under permanent pressure to generate wellbeing. This manuscript seeks to explore and analyze these tensions in the cities of Iquique and Alto Hospicio, in Chile's Tarapacá Region. They form a dynamic conurbation, where daily mobility and the dispute over access to housing clash with the choice offered by the different subsidy programs and the expansion of camps on the edges of the desert. So, how far or how close is SDG 11 in places like these? Is there a viable alternative for urban sustainability in precarious spaces?
... Housing affordability has become a major political issue in many jurisdictions [143][144][145]. Traditionally, affordability has been gauged by comparing house prices with incomes but there is now growing recognition that it is a more challenging concept than mere economics, involving additional criteria such as cultural identity and occupant happiness [139]. ...
Modelling of the greenhouse microclimate represents a great opportunity for existing growers to find ways to optimize energy usage while maintaining temperature and humidity setpoints. Models can also be used by greenhouse designers, as different build options can be compared to ensure optimal design decisions. The cost of installing new technologies and equipment is often high: simulations can be used to provide a good estimate of the potential impact specific systems will have before investing in costly greenhouse infrastructure. This paper documents the development and validation of a thermal energy model designed to simulate the microclimate of a greenhouse based on site properties, exterior conditions, greenhouse operating protocols and heat and mass transfer relationships. A dynamic lumped capacitance model approach was used. Due to the large variety of greenhouse types and equipment, the main objective was to test the predictive performance of the model at various greenhouse sites, ranging from a small backyard greenhouse to large, more complex commercial operations. Measured timeseries data was obtained for each site, either from field studies conducted by the research team or from logged greenhouse controller data supplied by commercial greenhouse operators. Various greenhouse elements common in commercial operations, such as supplemental heating and lighting, forced and passive ventilation, evaporative cooling pads, and dehumidification equipment, are found in some of the test sites, and all are incorporated into the model. The studied greenhouses are all located in southern Ontario, Canada (42.0 °N, 82.8 °W to 43.2 °N, 79.4 °W). This region is characterized as a humid, continental climate with four recognizable seasons (summer, fall, winter and spring). The model was tested with data from each season, since the regional industry is moving towards year-round production. The accuracy of the model results are quantified by using the root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) between measured and simulated values for each test case. The accuracy of greenhouse air temperature and humidity predictions compared favorably with examples in the literature for lumped parameter greenhouse models for all greenhouse sites and seasons simulated. The results support the conclusion that the model is sufficiently accurate to be used as a design tool for growers and greenhouse designers.