1 / 16

Housing Policies: Better Targeting Those Most in Need

Housing Policies: Better Targeting Those Most in Need. Christophe André Economics Department OECD. Outline of the presentation. General economic background Housing and welfare systems Homelessness: trends and policy orientations Conclusions: how to target those most in need?.

opa
Download Presentation

Housing Policies: Better Targeting Those Most in Need

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Housing Policies: Better Targeting Those Most in Need Christophe André EconomicsDepartment OECD

  2. Outline of the presentation • General economic background • Housing and welfare systems • Homelessness: trends and policy orientations • Conclusions: how to target those most in need?

  3. General economic backgroundTrends in most OECD countries • Rising costs and shortages of housing • Rising income inequality and poverty • Deepest recession since the 1930s • Fiscal crisis

  4. Housing cost overburden rate, 2009 (% of population)

  5. Income inequalityGini coefficients of income inequality, mid-1980s and late 2000s Source: OECD, Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising (2011).

  6. OECD output growth and unemployment

  7. General government financial balancePer cent of GDP (2011)

  8. Welfare systems and social housingStylised facts • Nordic model: extended welfare and flexibility – Universal social housing • Continental Europe: significant welfare but less flexible and universal – Diverse levels and organisation of social housing • English speaking countries: safety net approach – residual social housing • Transition economies: privatisation of housing at different speeds (e.g. cze,pol / est,svk)

  9. Tenure structure across countriesPer cent of dwelling stock Source: Andrews, Caldera Sánchez and Johansson, “Housing Markets and Structural Policies in OECD countries”, OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 836.

  10. Types of social housing systemsBased on eligibility and allocation criteria

  11. Public spending on housing • Tax reliefs: tend to be regressive • Grants for social housing: generally declining • Housing allowances: under pressure • Public finances increasingly tight -> need for more focus

  12. Homelessness: Trends • Difficult to measure. But seems to be rising in many countries • The recession and budget cuts are likely to make things worse • Main causes for homelessness: • Relationship breakdown and eviction • Personal vulnerabilities (addictions, mental health problems…)

  13. Homelessness: Policy orientations • People with no special needs: • Welfare safety net • Support for housing (allowances, social housing) • Forbearance (mortgage/rent arrears)/Prevention • People with special needs • Housing First (rather than Staircase models) • Additional social services • Coordination with landlords

  14. Homelessness and social housing • Disconnect between homelessness policies and social housing: path dependency, “policy silos”, stigma, financial risk… • Social housing for people with special needs? • Difficult for them to access market housing • Could face hardship in private rental • Coordination with social services

  15. Conclusions: how to target the most in need? • System approach to housing policies: is more social housing needed or are the problems elsewhere? • Allocation of social housing is key • For people with special needs: need for better coordination with social and health services

  16. Thank you !

More Related