Understanding cross-national differences in housing expenditures: Evidence for 28 European countries

Abstract

“In some Western European countries, there is a shortage in (affordable) housing. Because, while housing expenditures increases, the reasons for differences between countries in housing expenditures is not always understood. This research will conduct a research to find out which variables determine housing expenditures. Thereafter this research will look whether there is a moderating effect of institutions on these direct effects, as more one explanation can be correct, such as financialization or shortages, depending on the institutional background. In this research 28 European countries over the years 2001 till 2017 are considered. This research found evidence that shortages counter-intuitively make housing expenditures cheaper, and that the effects of financialization is not that big in the 28 researched European countries. Furthermore, evidence has been found that institutions do moderate some effects of variables on housing expenditure.”