The incidence of UK housing benefit: evidence from the 1990s reforms

Gibbons, Stephen ORCID: 0000-0002-2871-8562 and Manning, Alan ORCID: 0000-0002-7884-3580 (2003) The incidence of UK housing benefit: evidence from the 1990s reforms. CEPDP (597). London School of Economics and Political Science. Centre for Economic Performance, London, UK. ISBN 0753016753

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Abstract

Housing Benefit (HB) in the UK subsidizes the rent of tenants in both the private and public sectors. Its share in total welfare benefits has risen markedly through time and there is widespread dissatisfaction with it. But, reform has been very slow. One important issue is the extent to which the incidence of HB is actually on the tenants. Exploiting two data sets from the mid-1990s when the subsidy regime changed for some tenants but not for others, this paper explores the incidence. We find that some of the incidence is on landlords though our two data sets differ in the extent to which this is true. We also find evidence in support of a ¿matching¿ model of the rental market rather tha n a perfectly competitive one.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://cep.lse.ac.uk
Additional Information:	© 2003 the authors
Divisions:	Centre for Economic Performance Economics Geography & Environment
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology H Social Sciences > HJ Public Finance
JEL classification:	R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R3 - Production Analysis and Firm Location > R31 - Housing Supply and Markets H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue > H22 - Incidence
Date Deposited:	28 Jul 2008 10:45
Last Modified:	01 Nov 2024 04:51
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/20011

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