OECD Economics Department Working Papers

ISSN :
1815-1973 (en ligne)
DOI :
10.1787/18151973
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Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.
 

Improving the Flexibility of the Dutch Housing Market to Enhance Labour Mobility You or your institution have access to this content

Auteur(s):
Jens Høj
Date de publication
17 jan 2011
Bibliographic information
N°:
833
Pages
32
DOI
10.1787/5kgkdgfkxrr2-en

Cacher / Voir l'abstract

The housing market figures among the main determinants of labour mobility, as households seldom make employment and housing decisions independently of each other. This interdependence is likely to strengthen as the cost of commuting increases, due to worsening road congestion or measures that would raise fuel prices, for example to counter global warming. The Dutch housing market is more rigid than in many other OECD countries, as the result of numerous government interventions. Boosting labour mobility by easing rigidities would improve labour resource utilisation, which will be especially important as the labour force contracts with ageing. The rental sector could be made more attractive and flexible by dismantling strict rent regulation and rigid allocation mechanisms in the social housing sector. Lowering tax incentives to homeowners would improve the allocation of scarce capital and reduce house prices. Easing strict land-use and zoning regulation would increase the supply of all types of housing, reducing prices and allowing the housing stock to adjust better to residents’ needs. This Working Paper relates to the 2010 OECD Economic Survey of the Netherlands (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/ netherlands).
Mots-clés:
labour mobility, social housing, rent regulation, housing, own-occupied housing
Classification JEL:
  • J61: Labor and Demographic Economics / Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies / Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
  • R23: Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics / Household Analysis / Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics
  • R3: Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics / Real Estate Markets, Production Analysis, and Firm Location