OECD Economics Department Working Paper No. 1626 | 2020
Should I stay or should I go? Housing and residential mobility across OECD countries
A cross-country study of what makes people move home, and how housing policy helps or hinders it. I co-authored the paper and did the entire statistical analysis and methodology.
- No. 1626
- OECD Economics Department Working Paper
- 3
- regions of household microdata: EU, US, Australia
The question
Residential mobility differs hugely across countries: more than 40% of people move within five years in Australia and the US, under 10% in parts of Southern and Eastern Europe. We asked which housing policies explain the gap.
Findings
- A more responsive housing supply goes with higher mobility, so land-use and planning reform can make moving easier.
- Higher transaction costs, such as transfer taxes, lower mobility, especially for young first-time buyers.
- Strict rental regulation lowers mobility, especially for renters and lower-income households.
- Cash and in-kind housing support go with more mobility.
My role
Co-author with Orsetta Causa. I did the entire statistical analysis and methodology on household-level microdata, and presented the findings to stakeholders and OECD country desks.