Mental and general health at the edges of owner occupation
International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis
ISSN: 1753-8270
Article publication date: 28 March 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider one test of a well-functioning housing system – its impact on wellbeing. Exploring one indicator of this, this study aims to track changes in mental and general health across a mix of tenure transitions and financial transactions in three jurisdictions: Australia, the UK and the USA.
Design/methodology/approach
Using matched variables from three national panel surveys (Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia, British Household Panel Survey/Understanding Society and Panel Study of Income Dynamics) over 17 years (2000–2017) to capture the sweep of the most recent housing cycle, this study adopts a difference-in-difference random-effects model specification to estimate the mental and general health effects of tenure change and borrowing behaviours.
Findings
There is an enduring health premium associated with unmortgaged owner-occupation. Mortgage debt detracts from this, as does the prospect of dropping out of ownership and into renting. A previously observed post-exit recovery in mental health – a debt-relief effect – is not present in the longer run. In fact, in some circumstances, both mental and general health deficits are amplified, even among those who eventually regain homeownership. Though there are cross-country differences, the similarities across these financialised housing systems are more striking.
Practical implications
The well-being premium traditionally associated with owner occupation is under threat at the edges of the sector in all three jurisdictions. In this, there is cross-national convergence. There may therefore be scope to introduce policies to better support households at the edges of ownership that work across the board for debt-funded ownership-centred housing systems.
Originality/value
This paper extends the duration of a previous analysis of the impact of tenure transitions and financial transactions on well-being at the edges of ownership in the UK and Australia. The authors now track households over nearly two decades from the start of the millennium into a lengthy (post-global financial crisis) era of declining housing affordability. This study adds to the reach of the earlier study by adding a general health variable and a third jurisdiction, the USA.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper uses unit record data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) and Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). HILDA was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS) and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (Melbourne Institute). The BHPS and UKHLS are collected by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex. The collection of PSID data used in this study was funded by the National Science Foundation under awards SES1157698 and SES1623684. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Australian Government, DSS, Melbourne Institute, University of Essex or the National Science Foundation.
Funding: This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC)’s Discovery Projects funding scheme (DP190101461). Rachel Ong ViforJ is the recipient of an ARC Future Fellowship (FT200100422).
Citation
Truong, N.T.K., Smith, S.J., Wood, G., Clark, W.A.V., Lisowski, W. and Ong ViforJ, R. (2023), "Mental and general health at the edges of owner occupation", International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHMA-12-2022-0180
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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