Cross-country differences in homeownership: A cultural phenomenon?

Stefanie Huber and Tobias Schmidt

No 40/2019, Discussion Papers from Deutsche Bundesbank

Abstract: Cross-country differences in homeownership rates are large and persistent over time, with homeownership rates ranging from 40% in Switzerland to 80% in Spain. This paper investigates whether culture is a driving factor of the homeownership decision, and could thus explain part of the cross-country differences in homeownership rates. To isolate the effect of cultural preferences regarding homeownership from the impact of institutions and economic factors, we investigate the homeownership decisions of second-generation immigrants in the United States between 1994 and 2017. Our findings indicate that cultural preferences for homeownership are persistent, transmitted between generations, and substantially influence the rent-versus-buy decision.

Keywords: housing decisions; second generationmigrants; epidemological approach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G40 R21 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mig and nep-ure
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/206397/1/1680879529.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Cross-Country Differences in Homeownership: A Cultural Phenomenon? (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:bubdps:402019

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