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Does homeownership reduce crime? A radical housing reform from the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Disney, Richard
  • Gathergood, John
  • Machin, Stephen
  • Sandi, Matteo
Abstract
"Right to Buy" (RTB), a large-scale natural experiment by which incumbent tenants in public housing could buy properties at heavily-subsidised prices, increased the UK homeownership rate by over 10 percentage points between 1980 and the late 1990s. This paper studies its impact on crime, showing that RTB generated significant reductions in property and violent crime that persist up to today. The behavioural changes of incumbent tenants and the renovation of public properties were the main drivers of the crime reduction. This is evidence of a novel means by which subsidised homeownership and housing policy may contribute to reduce criminality.

Suggested Citation

  • Disney, Richard & Gathergood, John & Machin, Stephen & Sandi, Matteo, 2020. "Does homeownership reduce crime? A radical housing reform from the UK," CFS Working Paper Series 651, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cfswop:651
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen B. Billings & Adam Soliman, 2023. "The erosion of homeownership and minority wealth," CEP Discussion Papers dp1967, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Manea, Roxana Elena & Piraino, Patrizio & Viarengo, Martina, 2023. "Crime, inequality and subsidized housing: Evidence from South Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    3. Daniel Borbely & Gennaro Rossi, 2023. "Urban regeneration projects and crime: evidence from Glasgow," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(6), pages 1273-1301.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Crime; Homeownership; Public Housing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H44 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Goods: Mixed Markets
    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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