The housing fulcrum: Balancing economic and social factors in housing research and policy

Abstract

We discuss the pivotal role that housing plays for both social andeconomic outcomes. All people need to be housed, and housing circumstanceshelp determine social outcomes, especially for vulnerable groups.We outline an analytical framework that treats housing as a dynamicsystem, incorporating the life‐cycles of both individuals/householdsand houses. Each is long‐lived; decisions impact on housing for decades.This approach is relevant to the development of housing researchand housing policy. We illustrate the issues with reference to therelationship between rental yields and measures of deprivation acrossNew Zealand. The surprising nature of this relationship has consequencesregarding potential poverty traps and wealth disparities. While highlightingan important housing market issue, any policy response to this issueis complicated by the need to take account of the life‐cycles ofboth individuals and of houses, and by the long‐lasting impacts ofdecisions.