scholarly journals The Impact of House Prices on Consumption in the UK: a New Perspective

Economica ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (337) ◽  
pp. 92-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivien Burrows
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Meen ◽  
Christine Whitehead

Affordability is, perhaps, the greatest housing problem facing households today, both in the UK and internationally. Even though most households are now well housed, hardship is disproportionately concentrated among low-income and younger households. Our failure to deal with their problems is what makes housing so frustrating. But, to improve outcomes, we have to understand the complex economic and political forces which underlie their continued prevalence. There are no costless solutions, but there are new policy directions that can be explored in addition to those that have dominated in recent years. The first, analytic, part of the book considers the factors that determine house prices and rents, household formation and tenure, housing construction and the roles played by housing finance and taxation. The second part turns to examine the impact of past policy and the possibilities for improvement - discussing supply and the impact of planning regulation, supply subsidies, subsidies to low-income tenants and attempts to increase home ownership. Rather than advocating a particular set of policies, the aim is to consider the balance of policies; the constraints under which housing policy operates; what can realistically be achieved; the structural changes that would need to occur; and the significant sacrifices that would have to be made by some groups if there are to be improvements for others. Our emphasis is on the UK but throughout the book we also draw on international experience and our conclusions have relevance to analysts and policy makers across the developed world.


Author(s):  
Bob Colenutt

Book Abstract: Despite countless reports and Government policy announcements on the housing crisis over decades, the scale and depth of the crisis continues. Homelessness, shortages of social housing, rents and house prices continue rise year on year. The word affordability has become meaningless. Land landowners and housebuilders and property investors have made huge profits out of this crisis. This book focusing in examples from London and Northamptonshire examines the power of the ‘finance-housebuilding ’ complex arguing that this property lobby is the main blockage for change and reform. It explains why the housing and planning system has become increasingly dysfunctional over the last 40 years accelerating with the impact of the 2008 Crash. The book gives examples of how the property lobby has been highly effective in manipulating Government housing and planning policy for its own benefit, to the detriment of those in housing need. It shows how the housebuilders business model, backed by Government grants and subsidies, has played a central role in perpetuating the crisis. The property lobby has succeeded in diverting attention from themselves onto the town planning system which has been scapegoated for holding back new house building. The result is that the housing crisis and the power behind it is hard baked into the UK economy. It must be addressed by radical reform of the property, planning and finance system. Without these reforms homelessness, poor housing, and lack of affordability will continue indefinitely.


Author(s):  
Nick Gallent

Returning to the idea of housing access/affordability as a wicked problem, this chapter explores 6 critical explanations of the housing cost crisis, showing how these explanations intersect to produce a broader narrative account of the political economy of housing outcomes. The chapter looks at impediments to increasing housing supply, the role of direct (overseas) investors in the London housing market, reliance on volume housebuilding (the lack of plurality in the UK model of housing production), the associated reliance on ‘build to sell’ (and the lack of space for alternative models), the impact that the tax treatment of housing has on consumption and housing supply, and the role that credit supply has on house prices and housing costs.


2008 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 251-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Sims ◽  
Peter Dent ◽  
G. Reza Oskrochi

This paper discusses the findings from a UK study to determine the likely impact of a wind farm on house prices using a hedonic pricing model. The Government's commitment to wind power has resulted in a massive increase in the number of wind farms sited in the UK. This has led to concerns that their visual and aural presence could have a negative impact on proximate house prices. This paper presents an analysis of 201sales transactions from houses situated within half a mile of a 16 turbine wind farm in Cornwall, UK. Whilst no causal link was established between the presence of the wind farm and house price, there was some evidence to suggest that both noise and flicker from the turbine blades could blight certain property and that the view of countryside enjoyed by the occupier had some value which may be affected by a wind farm. Santrauka Šiame darbe aptariami JK atlikto tyrimo rezultatai, kuriuo, taikant hedonistinį kainų modelį, siekta nustatyti galimą vėjo jėgainių poveikį namų kainoms. Vyriausybės parama vėjo energijai paskatino naujo elemento, vėjo jėgainės, atsiradimą aplinkoje; susirūpinta, ar vėjo jėgainių vaizdas ir garsas galėtų neigiamai paveikti namų kainas. Šiame darbe nagrinėjamas 201 prekybinis sandoris, susijęs su namais, pusę mylios nutolusiais nuo Bears Down, Kornvalyje (JK), esančio 16 vėjo jėgainių ūkio. Nors priežastinis ryšys tarp vėjo jėgainių ir namų kainos nepastebėtas, yra įrodymų, kad jėgainės keliamas triukšmas ir menčių mirgėjimas kai kuriems nekilnojamojo turto objektams galėtų pakenkti ir kad gyventojui patikęs kaimo vaizdas gali tapti nebepatrauklus.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 230-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arooj Rashid ◽  
Liz Barnes ◽  
Gary Warnaby

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a new perspective by conceptualising country of origin (COO) from a management perspective, identifying the impact different COO constructs have in the context of fashion retailer and manufacturer businesses. Design/methodology/approach – This qualitative study comprises a series of in-depth interviews with key informants from large-scale fashion retailers and manufacturers in the UK. Findings – The major findings of this research demonstrate that COO is considered a strategic business imperative but manifests in a variety of ways depending on brand positioning, long-term strategic plans, expertise, and brand values, etc. Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the body of knowledge about the importance of COO. The findings of this research will have practical implications for manufacturers and retailers, informing the debate on the value of the “Made in […]” epithet. Findings are limited to the UK fashion clothing industry. Originality/value – This research presents a new perspective on the COO construct, addressing it from a management rather than consumer perspective. It argues that COO can be considered as a strategic dimension, which is manifested in a variety of ways. COO has been extensively researched from a consumer point of view but this research takes a new approach by presenting findings from a managerial point of view, with fashion manufacturing and retail branding as the context.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Hinch ◽  
Jim Berry ◽  
William McGreal ◽  
Terry Grissom

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse how London Interbank Offered Rate Index (LIBOR) and the spread between LIBOR and the base rate of interest as set by the Bank of England (BoE) influences the variation in house prices in the UK. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses monthly data over a long time series, since 1986, to investigate the relationships between house price and LIBOR. Data are drawn from several different sources to include housing, financial and macro-economic variables. The time series is sub-divided into a series of splines based on stages in the economic and property market cycle. Both value-based and percentage change models are developed. Findings – The results show that BoE base/LIBOR margin variable has a strong positive and significant effect on house price; however, the percentage change model infers a weaker and inverse relationship. The spline analysis re-emphasised the significance of the BoE base/LIBOR margin variable. Where variation between base rates and LIBOR is reduced, a significant positive effect can be observed in the average house price; however, where significant variation exists, the BoE base/LIBOR margin has little effect and LIBOR itself becomes a significant driver. Research limitations/implications – The results highlight that the predictive qualities of the BoE base/LIBOR margin, as the contribution of this margin to the explanation of house price, exceeds both the base rate and LIBOR variables individually. Also highlighted is the contribution of unemployment to the explanation of house price. In both the value and percentage change models, unemployment is shown as a negative and highly significant contributor. Originality/value – Previous papers have demonstrated the important linkage between house price and interest rates, the originality in this paper lies in examining the impact of LIBOR and the spreads between LIBOR and base rate as key variables influencing variation in UK house prices.


1992 ◽  
Vol 139 ◽  
pp. 64-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Miles

Over the course of the twentieth century housing wealth in the UK has risen dramatically; recently it has become easier for households to borrow against that wealth. The process by which real housing wealth has growth—through long-term increases in the relative price of homes and substantial real investment in the stock of dwellings—has implications for the impact of financial liberalisation upon saving future house prices and bequests of housing. This article takes a long-term perspective on housing in the UK in order to answer questions of great practical importance. The interaction between savings, population changes, bequests of properly, housing investment and house prices is analysed and the forces driving these variables into the next century are assessed.


Author(s):  
C. Claire Thomson

This chapter traces the early history of state-sponsored informational filmmaking in Denmark, emphasising its organisation as a ‘cooperative’ of organisations and government agencies. After an account of the establishment and early development of the agency Dansk Kulturfilm in the 1930s, the chapter considers two of its earliest productions, both process films documenting the manufacture of bricks and meat products. The broader context of documentary in Denmark is fleshed out with an account of the production and reception of Poul Henningsen’s seminal film Danmark (1935), and the international context is accounted for with an overview of the development of state-supported filmmaking in the UK, Italy and Germany. Developments in the funding and output of Dansk Kulturfilm up to World War II are outlined, followed by an account of the impact of the German Occupation of Denmark on domestic informational film. The establishment of the Danish Government Film Committee or Ministeriernes Filmudvalg kick-started aprofessionalisation of state-sponsored filmmaking, and two wartime public information films are briefly analysed as examples of its early output. The chapter concludes with an account of the relations between the Danish Resistance and an emerging generation of documentarists.


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