Research
Housing & Happiness
How does Housing Make Us Happy?
| "The American Dream? The Private and External Benefits of Homeownership" | |
| Date | February 2009 (Under review) |
| Subject | Housing and Happiness |
| Keywords | Housing consumption, Homeownership, Well-being, Happiness |
| Abstract | Using a unique data set that links up well-being and housing consumption, I measure systematic differences between homeowners and renters in a wide array of time use and well-being measures. While homeowners report to be happier on an unadjusted basis, they do not report higher levels of well-being by any measure in this data set when demographics and income are controlled for. Their time use patterns reveal little evidence of them being "better citizens". Homeowners who live in ZIP code areas with higher rates of homeownership report more positive attitudes only if other owners are similar to them in socio-economic terms, lending some support to the idea of beneficial social interaction among owners. |
| "Be it Ever So Humble: Understanding Housing Using Subjective Well-being Data" | |
| Date | February 2007 |
| Subject | Housing and Happiness |
| Keywords | Housing consumption; Well-being |
| Abstract | This paper presents new evidence on the utility – or well-being – derived from housing. There are three areas of focus: 1) how people feel at home versus outside home and if there is a positive athome differential, especially with respect to housing as a complementary good to family life; 2) whether well-being related to housing consumption varies by home values and homeownership status; and 3) if and how neighborhood home prices relate to home related well-being measures. |