House Prices, Wealth Effects and Labor Supply
Download Document| Date Published | 2013 |
| Version | |
| Primary Author | Richard Disney |
| Other Authors | John Gathergood |
| Theme | Housing and Wealth Creation |
| Country |
Abstract
We examine the impact of housing wealth on labour supply using exogenous local variations in house prices and household panel data for Britain. Our analysis controls for variations in local labour demand and income expectations which might co-determine house prices and labour supply. We find significant effects of house price variations on labour supply, consistent with leisure being a normal good. Labour supply is particularly sensitive to house prices among the young and older men. Our findings imply that housing wealth losses may have contributed to the unexpectedly high rates of labour market activity in Britain during the Great Recession.