Capitalization of central government grants into local house prices: panel data evidence from England

Hilber, Christian A. L. ORCID: 0000-0002-1352-495X, Lyytikainen, Teemu and Vermeulen, Wouter (2010) Capitalization of central government grants into local house prices: panel data evidence from England. SERC Discussion Papers (SERCDP0057). Spatial Economics Research Centre (SERC), London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.

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Abstract

We explore the impact of central government grants on local house prices in England using a panel data set of local authorities (LAs) from 2001 to 2008. Electoral targeting of grants to LAs by the incumbent national government provides an exogenous source of variation in grants that we exploit to identify their causal effect on house prices. Our results indicate substantial or even full capitalization. We also find that house prices respond more strongly in locations in which new construction is constrained by physical barriers. Our results imply that (i) during our sample period grants were largely used in a way that is valued by the marginal homebuyer and (ii) increases in grants to a LA may mainly benefit the typically better off property owners (homeowners and absentee landlords) in that LA.

Item Type:	Monograph (Discussion Paper)
Official URL:	http://www.spatialeconomics.ac.uk/SERC/publication...
Additional Information:	© 2010 The Authors
Divisions:	Geography & Environment Spatial Economics Research Centre
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HJ Public Finance J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > JN101 Great Britain
JEL classification:	H - Public Economics > H2 - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue H - Public Economics > H3 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents H - Public Economics > H7 - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations H - Public Economics > H8 - Miscellaneous Issues > H81 - Governmental Loans, Loan Guarantees, and Credits R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R2 - Household Analysis > R21 - Housing Demand R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R3 - Production Analysis and Firm Location > R31 - Housing Supply and Markets
Date Deposited:	27 Jan 2011 12:48
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2024 20:15
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/31778

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