Showing papers by "Urban Institute published in 2017"
TL;DR: It is suggested the relative deprivation theory and processes of social comparison hold some value in explaining the findings of an uneven concentration of energy poverty, poor health, and poor well-being across Europe.
Abstract: Despite growing pan-European interest in and awareness of the wide-ranging health and well-being impacts of energy poverty—which is characterised by an inability to secure adequate levels of energy services in the home—the knowledge base is largely British-centric and dominated by single-country studies In response, this paper investigates the relationship between energy poverty, health and well-being across 32 European countries, using 2012 data from the European Quality of Life Survey We find an uneven concentration of energy poverty, poor health, and poor well-being across Europe, with Eastern and Central Europe worst affected At the intersection of energy poverty and health, there is a higher incidence of poor health (both physical and mental) amongst the energy poor populations of most countries, compared to non-energy poor households Interestingly, we find the largest disparities in health and well-being levels between energy poor and non-energy poor households occur within relatively equal societies, such as Sweden and Slovenia As well as the unique challenges brought about by rapidly changing energy landscapes in these countries, we also suggest the relative deprivation theory and processes of social comparison hold some value in explaining these findings
212 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the improvements in mental health status may be driven by reduced stress associated with improved financial security from insurance coverage, and large missed opportunities for low-income parents in states that did not expand Medicaid are found.
Abstract: Despite receiving less attention than their childless counterparts, low-income parents also experienced significant expansions of Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We used d...
90 citations
TL;DR: Results of the LongROAD project will generate much-needed evidence for formulating public policy and developing intervention programs to maintain safe mobility while ensuring well-being for older adults.
Abstract: As an important indicator of mobility, driving confers a host of social and health benefits to older adults. Despite the importance of safe mobility as the population ages, longitudinal data are lacking about the natural history and determinants of driving safety in older adults. The Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD) project is a multisite prospective cohort study designed to generate empirical data for understanding the role of medical, behavioral, environmental and technological factors in driving safety during the process of aging. A total of 2990 active drivers aged 65–79 years at baseline have been recruited through primary care clinics or health care systems in five study sites located in California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, and New York. Consented participants were assessed at baseline with standardized research protocols and instruments, including vehicle inspection, functional performance tests, and “brown-bag review” of medications. The primary vehicle of each participant was instrumented with a small data collection device that records detailed driving data whenever the vehicle is operating and detects when a participant is driving. Annual follow-up is being conducted for up to three years with a telephone questionnaire at 12 and 36 months and in-person assessment at 24 months. Medical records are reviewed annually to collect information on clinical diagnoses and healthcare utilization. Driving records, including crashes and violations, are collected annually from state motor vehicle departments. Pilot testing was conducted on 56 volunteers during March–May 2015. Recruitment and enrollment were completed between July 2015 and March 2017. Results of the LongROAD project will generate much-needed evidence for formulating public policy and developing intervention programs to maintain safe mobility while ensuring well-being for older adults.
67 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the ways in which the city has been diagrammed as a space of power since the nineteenth century and highlight the antecedents of Urban OS present across different domains of life.
Abstract: A set of software/hardware packages developed by IT companies for the urban market is transforming the way in which cities are imagined and configured. These urban operating systems (Urban OS) embody important presumptions about what constitutes appropriate knowledge and forms of decision making, pointing to how novel forms of ‘smart' or ‘computational' urbanism may govern urban life. Arguing that an analysis of the interface between the urban and IT requires a broader historical and theoretical perspective, the article traces the ways in which the city has been diagrammed as a space of power since the nineteenth century and highlights the antecedents of Urban OS present across different domains of life—particularly in military and corporate enterprises. Relaying the urban as an efficient logistical enterprise, and operating as a piloting device (Deleuze and Guattari, 1987), the Urban OS appears as an emerging urban diagram introducing an informational diagrammatic of control. We focus on five archetypal framings of how Urban OS envision the city, illustrating how a new corporate rationality of control based on functional simplification and heterogeneous reintegration seeks to take hold in the city (via re-engineering, agility, modularity, flexibility and configurability).
59 citations
TL;DR: Results suggest that mentoring rates have remained relatively stable over the past decade, but that the population of mentors has changed somewhat in terms of age, ethnicity, educational background, and region of the United States.
Abstract: Over the past decade, considerable resources have been devoted to recruiting volunteer mentors and expanding mentoring programs. It is unclear whether these efforts have helped to counter the broader national trends of declining volunteer rates. The current study uses data from the Volunteering Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS), sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, to explore population-level trends in mentoring over the past decade. Results suggest that mentoring rates have remained relatively stable over the past decade, but that the population of mentors has changed somewhat in terms of age, ethnicity, educational background, and region of the United States. In addition, certain sectors of the mentor population show higher rates of attrition from 1 year to the next. Findings have important implications for the development of recruitment, training, and mentor support practices within mentoring organizations, as well as policies designed to meet the needs of at-risk youth in the U.S.
59 citations
TL;DR: In a food pantry sample with high rates of food insecurity, it is found that diabetes self-management becomes increasingly difficult as food security worsens, and the efficacy of interventions to improve diabetesSelf-management may increase if food security is simultaneously addressed.
Abstract: Objective To examine the association between level of food security and diabetes self-management among food pantry clients, which is largely not possible using clinic-based sampling methods. Design Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting Community-based food pantries in California, Ohio and Texas, USA, from March 2012 through March 2014. Subjects Convenience sample of adults with diabetes queuing at pantries (n 1237; 83 % response). Sampled adults were stratified as food secure, low food secure or very low food secure. We used point-of-care glycated Hb (HbA1c) testing to determine glycaemic control and captured diabetes self-management using validated survey items. Results The sample was 70 % female, 55 % Latino/Hispanic, 25 % white and 10 % black/African American, with a mean age of 56 years. Eighty-four per cent were food insecure, one-half of whom had very low food security. Mean HbA1c was 8·1 % and did not vary significantly by food security status. In adjusted models, very-low-food-secure participants, compared with both low-food-secure and food-secure participants, had poorer diabetes self-efficacy, greater diabetes distress, greater medication non-adherence, higher prevalence of severe hypoglycaemic episodes, higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, more medication affordability challenges, and more food and medicine or health supply trade-offs. Conclusions Few studies of the health impact of food security have been able to examine very low food security. In a food pantry sample with high rates of food insecurity, we found that diabetes self-management becomes increasingly difficult as food security worsens. The efficacy of interventions to improve diabetes self-management may increase if food security is simultaneously addressed.
58 citations
53 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a statistically rigorous program evaluation of the impact of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police response-to-resistance (e.g., use of force) is provided.
Abstract: The current study provides a statistically rigorous program evaluation of the impact of police body-worn cameras (BWCs) on police response-to-resistance (e.g., use of force). Results indicate that BWC officers’ mean frequency of response-to-resistance decreased by 8.4% from the 12 months pre-BWC implementation to the 12 months post-BWC implementation compared with a 3.4% increase observed for the matched sample of non-BWC officers. Police departments should consider adopting BWCs alongside other strategies to reduce police response-to-resistance, and to improve transparency and accountability. Study limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.
52 citations
TL;DR: The impacts of the foreclosure crisis have been widespread, catalyzing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and leading to dramatic declines in housing equity and wealth However, this paper pointed out that the impact of the crisis has been largely overlooked.
Abstract: The impacts of the foreclosure crisis have been widespread, catalyzing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and leading to dramatic declines in housing equity and wealth However,
50 citations
TL;DR: It is found that student performance was about the same in both sections, as measured by pass rates and scores on common assessments, and despite the similar student outcomes produced by the two course formats, students in the hybrid sections reported considerably lower satisfaction with their experience.
Abstract: Massively open online courses (MOOCs) have received a great deal of attention, but little research exists on how they might fit into the existing system of higher education We studied the impacts
42 citations
TL;DR: This study compared the performance of 12 supervised learning algorithms to predict recidivism among offenders released from Minnesota prisons and suggested that multiple methods, including machine learning algorithms, should be considered in the development of recidivist risk assessment instruments.
Abstract: Recent research has produced mixed results as to whether newer machine learning algorithms outperform older, more traditional methods such as logistic regression in predicting recidivism. In this study, we compared the performance of 12 supervised learning algorithms to predict recidivism among offenders released from Minnesota prisons. Using multiple predictive validity metrics, we assessed the performance of these algorithms across varying sample sizes, recidivism base rates, and number of predictors in the data set. The newer machine learning algorithms generally yielded better predictive validity results. LogitBoost had the best overall performance, followed by Random forests, MultiBoosting, bagged trees, and logistic model trees. Still, the gap between the best and worst algorithms was relatively modest, and none of the methods performed the best in each of the 10 scenarios we examined. The results suggest that multiple methods, including machine learning algorithms, should be considered in the devel...
TL;DR: For example, the authors reviewed changes over time in educational attainment levels and the earnings premiums for advanced degrees, and then explored differences in enrollment and completion patterns across demographic groups, and concluded that the option of seeking an advanced degree has gained momentum in recent decades, and now some observers call the master's degree the new bachelor's degree.
Abstract: During the Great Recession, those with college degrees fared much better than those without degrees, but a number of college graduates struggled to find satisfactory employment, leading many to graduate study. The option of seeking an advanced degree has gained momentum in recent decades, and now some observers call the master’s degree the “new bachelor’s degree.”This brief is the first in a series addressing questions about enrollment and success in graduate school, funding of graduate students, the conceptual differences between undergraduate and graduate students, and the data available to address these questions.As participation in graduate programs rises, it is critical to ask who is enrolling, which programs they are choosing, whether they complete their degrees, and how their investment in education beyond the bachelor’s degree pays off. This brief reviews changes over time in educational attainment levels and the earnings premiums for advanced degrees, and then explores differences in enrollment and completion patterns across demographic groups.
TL;DR: The significant gains in health insurance coverage and improvements in health care access and affordability that followed the implementation of the key coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act in 2014 have persisted into 2017.
Abstract: The significant gains in health insurance coverage and improvements in health care access and affordability that followed the implementation of the key coverage provisions of the Affordable Care Act in 2014 have persisted into 2017. Adults in all parts of the country, of all ages, and across all income groups have benefited from a large and sustained increase in the percentage of the US population that has health insurance. The gains have been particularly striking among low- and moderate-income Americans living in states that expanded Medicaid. Our latest survey data from the Urban Institute’s 2017 Health Reform Monitoring Survey shows that only 10.2 percent of nonelderly adults are now uninsured—a decline of almost 41 percent from the period before implementation of the ACA. Nonetheless, repealing and replacing the ACA remained under consideration during the summer of 2017, along with more systematic changes to the financing of the Medicaid program. Many people will be at substantial risk if key compone...
TL;DR: Repurposing vacant land for food production is expanding as a response to urban blight, food insecurity, and food deserts as mentioned in this paper, as municipalities integrate urban agriculture in their sustainability plan.
Abstract: Repurposing vacant land for food production is expanding as a response to urban blight, food insecurity, and food deserts. As municipalities integrate urban agriculture in their sustainability plan...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors introduce a novel framework called the Dimensions of Urban Energy Transitions (DUET) framework, which is built upon theoretical thinking of both transitions studies and urban studies.
Abstract: Urban China provides a unique setting to examine the urban energy transitions. Rizhao, the Chinese ‘solar city’ is known for the rapid spread and popularization of solar hot water systems since the 1990s. In this paper we seek to understand how the specific urban conditions in Rizhao have favored the adoption of solar hot water systems to the extent that we can speak of an urban energy transition towards solar energy. To do so, this paper introduces a novel framework – the Dimensions of Urban Energy Transitions (DUET) framework – building upon theoretical thinking of both transitions studies and urban studies. The Rizhao case illustrates the dimensions of the DUET framework, analyzing specially the dynamic interactions between urban development processes and energy transitions. The case of Rizhao shows that transition possibilities are continuously shaped by the ongoing conflicts and alignments between industry interests and territorial priorities.
TL;DR: The presence of some positive findings suggests that housing vouchers might help reduce child welfare involvement if better targeting were practiced by child welfare agencies.
Abstract: This study addresses whether providing housing vouchers through the Family Unification Program (FUP) to families involved in the child welfare system reduces child maltreatment and the need for child welfare services. The study uses child welfare administrative data on 326 children in Portland, Oregon, and 502 children in San Diego, California from the point at which their families were referred to the program through 18 months post-referral. Using a quasi-experimental waitlist comparison design, probit regressions show little impact of FUP on preventing child removal from home, but some positive impact on reunification among children already placed out of home. Hazard estimations show receipt of FUP speeds up child welfare case closure. Impacts on new reports of abuse and neglect are mixed, but point toward reduced reports. Low rates of removal among intact comparison families and high rates of reunification for children in out-of-home care suggest poor targeting of housing resources. Housing vouchers are being given to families not bearing the risks the program is intended to address. The presence of some positive findings suggests that housing vouchers might help reduce child welfare involvement if better targeting were practiced by child welfare agencies.
TL;DR: This research examines intergenerational influence on the relatively unexplored academic self-concept as well as educational plans, a critical component of the status attainment model, and finds evidence that the sources giving rise to the development of children’s achievement orientations do not only result from parental contemporaneous influence.
Abstract: This research investigates the social reproduction of inequality by drawing on prospective longitudinal data from three generations of Youth Development Study respondents. It examines intergenerational influence on the relatively unexplored academic self-concept as well as educational plans, a critical component of the status attainment model. A structural equation model, based on 422 3-generation triads, finds evidence that the sources giving rise to the development of children's (Generation 3) achievement orientations do not only result from parental (G2) contemporaneous influence. Prior influences implicate grandparent (G1) educational attainment and income, grandparental expectations for the G2 adolescent, the G2 academic self-concept and educational plans measured more than twenty years earlier (in G2's adolescence), and G2 educational attainment. A familial culture emphasizing academic self-confidence and high educational expectations may be an important component of "family capital" that supports educational attainment and contributes to the maintenance of social class position in each successive generation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore initiatives for the construction of substantive citizenship by transnational migrants in Buenos Aires and explore migrants' political participation across the city, looking at migrants’ political participation in the city.
Abstract: In this paper, we explore initiatives for the construction of substantive citizenship by transnational migrants in Buenos Aires. In looking at migrants’ political participation across the city, we ...
TL;DR: The OHH model appears to have the potential to effectively address the complex needs of individuals with opioid use disorder by providing whole-person care that integrates medical care, behavioral health, and social services and supports.
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TL;DR: This paper examined the effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on labor market outcomes using data from the Current Population Survey from 2000 to 2016, and found that through 2016, the ACA had little to no adverse effect on employment and usual hours worked per week.
Abstract: This brief examines effects of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on labor market outcomes using data from the Current Population Survey from 2000 to 2016. Results indicate that through 2016, the ACA had little to no adverse effect on employment and usual hours worked per week. Levels of part-time work (29 or fewer hours per week) have fallen since 2014, but remain at somewhat higher levels than would be expected at this stage of the economic recovery. The higher-than-expected rate of part-time work is driven by increases in voluntary part-time employment. Involuntary part-time employment was lower than expected. These findings suggest that the ACA did not lead to widespread cutbacks in workers’ hours by employers attempting to avoid employer mandate penalties, but may have led some workers to reduce the number of hours they chose to work.
TL;DR: The assessment of American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations and other tribal areas remains strikingly more severe than those of other Americans as mentioned in this paper, although improvements have been made over the past two decades.
Abstract: During the past two decades, although improvements have been made, the overcrowding and physical housing problems of American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIANs) living on reservations and other tribal areas remain strikingly more severe than those of other Americans. Particular circumstances of tribal areas — remoteness, lack of infrastructure, and complex legal and other constraints related to land ownership — make it extremely difficult to improve housing conditions in those areas, although it is important to point out that tribal area housing problems and the barriers to addressing them are much more challenging in some locations and regions of the country than in others.
This main final report includes the principal findings and conclusions of the Assessment of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Housing Needs, a congressionally mandated study funded by HUD and carried out by the Urban Institute and its subcontractors, Econometrica, Inc.; NORC at the University of Chicago; and Support Services International, Inc.
TL;DR: Using data for 2012-14 from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, this work compared health care spending and utilization of newly eligible Medicaid enrollees with those of nondisabled adults who were previously eligible and enrolled and found that average monthly expenditures for newly eligible enrollees were $180-21 percent less than the $228 average for previously eligible enrollee.
Abstract: Understanding the health care spending and utilization of various types of Medicaid enrollees is important for assessing the budgetary implications of both expansion and contraction in Medicaid enrollment. Despite the intense debate surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), however, little information is available on the spending and utilization patterns of the nonelderly adult enrollees who became newly eligible for Medicaid under the ACA. Using data for 2012–14 from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, we compared health care spending and utilization of newly eligible Medicaid enrollees with those of nondisabled adults who were previously eligible and enrolled. We found that average monthly expenditures for newly eligible enrollees were $180—21 percent less than the $228 average for previously eligible enrollees. Utilization differences between these groups likely contributed to this differential.
TL;DR: The authors conducted randomized experiments of low-cost online summer math programs at three universities to test whether this type of intervention can increase access to math preparation, improve placement and enrollment in fall math classes, and improve performance in first-year math courses.
Abstract: Every year many students enter college without the math preparation needed to succeed in their desired programs of study. Many of these students struggle to catch up, especially those who are required to take remedial math courses before entering college-level math. Increasing the number of students who begin at the appropriate level of math has become an important focus for educators and policymakers. We conducted randomized experiments of low-cost online summer math programs at three universities to test whether this type of intervention can increase access to math preparation, improve placement and enrollment in fall math classes, and improve performance in first-year math courses. Students who received the intervention engaged with the platform, though at relatively low rates, and were more likely to retake the placement test and improve their scores than students in the control group. However, these improved scores did not translate into enrolling in higher level math courses, obtaining more ...
TL;DR: In this article, a special focus on the late Generation-X and Millennial generations was used to assess the future financial security of future retirees, with a special attention on the older generations, using data from the Current Population Survey and Survey of Consumer Finances.
Abstract: Various policy developments and long-term economic, social, and demographic trends raise worrisome questions about the financial security of future retirees. An erosion in employer-sponsored defined benefit pension coverage and the increase in Social Security’s full retirement age could shrink future benefits. Stagnating employment and earnings for men could threaten future retirement security, because retirement benefits and the capacity to save depend on lifetime earnings. The financial crisis, Great Recession, and collapse of the housing market in the second half of the previous decade could significantly disrupt retirement savings. This paper assesses retirement prospects for future generations, with a special focus on the late Generation-X and Millennial generations. Because retirement outcomes depend on how much people earned and saved when they were younger, the analysis compares trends in employment, earnings, pension coverage, and wealth during working ages across cohorts, using data from the Current Population Survey and the Survey of Consumer Finances. The analysis also projects age-70 incomes for future generations using DYNASIM4, the Urban Institute’s dynamic microsimulation model.
This paper found that:
- Many recent trends threaten future retirement security, including continuing declines in men’s employment before age 55, stagnating median earnings for men, and a sharp decline in median household wealth after 2007.
- Other trends are more encouraging. Gen-X and Millennial women worked and earned more in their 20s and 30s than now-retired women did at those ages, and Millennial men and women are much more likely to have a four-year college degree than previous cohorts.
- Projections show that median age-70 income will be higher for Gen-Xers and Millennials than previous generations as earnings grow over time.
- However, a larger share of retired Gen-Xers and Millennials will be unable to replace at least three-quarters of their pre-retirement earnings, according to the projections, and will see their living standards decline when they retire. The policy implications of this paper are:
- How employment, earnings, and savings patterns evolve over the next three decades will shape Millennials’ retirement incomes. - Policy choices regarding retirement programs, especially strategies to address Social Security’s long-term financing gap, will significantly affect the retirement security of future generations.
TL;DR: The authors argue for a next generation of place-conscious strategies that recognize the importance of neighborhoods in the lives of families, but look beyond narrowly defined neighborhood boundaries to address market-wide opportunities and barriers, capitalize on demographic and market trends underway at the regional scale, and envision alternative models of how neighborhoods can function for their residents.
Abstract: This article argues for a next generation of place-conscious strategies that recognize the importance of neighborhoods in the lives of families, but look beyond narrowly defined neighborhood boundaries to address market-wide opportunities and barriers, capitalize on demographic and market trends underway at the regional scale, and envision alternative models of how neighborhoods can function for their residents. It offers five principles for ongoing experimentation and knowledge building: (a) develop citywide strategies that promote both inclusion and redevelopment; (b) anticipate and plan for residential mobility and neighborhood change; (c) connect residents of poor neighborhoods to city and regional opportunities; (d) capitalize on the coming rental housing boom; and (e) use data for continuous learning and accountability. Advancing this agenda will require enhanced capacity for collaboration and governance at the local levels.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the sensitivity of Gunshot detection technology (GDT) relative to Calls for Service (COS) in Washington, DC during 2010 and found that the relative sensitivity of GDT was much stronger in the evening and at nighttime than in the daytime.
TL;DR: This paper examined the role that family structure plays in long-run economic outcomes across the life course using nearly 30 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, and found that the role of family structure played a significant role in economic outcomes.
Abstract: This paper examines the role that family structure plays in long-run economic outcomes across the life course. Using nearly 30 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the impact of refinancing on mortgage defaults based on an empirical investigation of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), using a unique dataset from Freddie Mac which includes loans funded right before and after the HARP eligibility cutoff date, an exogenous event.
Abstract: This paper examines the impact of refinancing on mortgage defaults based on an empirical investigation of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). We study a unique dataset from Freddie Mac which includes loans funded right before and after the HARP eligibility cutoff date, an exogenous event. Using a Fuzzy Regression Discontinuity Design method, we show that receiving a HARP refinance decreases the expected monthly default rate by about 48–62 percent using different bandwidth specifications.
TL;DR: It is concluded that the movement toward physicians' alignment with and employment in vertically integrated systems seems inexorable but that policy should not promote such integration either intentionally or inadvertently; policy should address the flaws in current payment approaches that reward high prices and excessive service use-outcomes that vertical integration currently produces.
Abstract: Vertical integration has been a central feature of health care delivery system change for more than two decades. Recent studies have demonstrated that vertically integrated health care systems raise prices and costs without observable improvements in quality, despite many theoretical reasons why cost control and improved quality might occur. Less well studied is how physicians view their newfound partnerships with hospitals. In this article I review literature findings and other observations on five aspects of vertical integration that affect physicians in their professional and personal lives: patients' access to physicians, physician compensation, autonomy versus system support, medical professionalism and culture, and lifestyle. I conclude that the movement toward physicians' alignment with and employment in vertically integrated systems seems inexorable but that policy should not promote such integration either intentionally or inadvertently. Instead, policy should address the flaws in current payment approaches that reward high prices and excessive service use-outcomes that vertical integration currently produces.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to better understand the role of homeownership in retirement before and after the Great Recession for the United States and nine Western European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.
Abstract: Relatively few Americans have accumulated substantial savings outside of their employer-sponsored retirement plans, yet most own their homes. The traditional view of the retirement income system as a three-legged stool supported by Social Security, private pensions, and savings may be better viewed as being supported by Social Security, pensions, and homeownership.
Country-specific economic, social, and political developments throughout modern history mean that homeownership rates and the relative importance of homeownership for old-age security vary widely across developed countries. Many countries, however, are increasingly promoting homeownership as an effective way of building assets, a de facto self-insurance mechanism for old-age security, and a substitute for various social transfers.
This paper uses data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to better understand the role of homeownership in retirement before and after the Great Recession for the United States and nine Western European countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. It begins by comparing trends in homeownership rates among older adults and the key characteristics of housing-related policies and regulations that potentially impact home acquisition. It then examines home equity trends, the prevalence and burden of housing debt, and the relative importance of housing as a source of retirement wealth. Next it provides an overview of equity release options and estimates how much older households could increase their incomes by fully monetizing their housing equity. Finally, the paper discusses the prospects for and limits of home equity release and asset-based welfare policies.
The paper found that:
-Most older adults are homeowners, and homeownership rates generally increased between 2006 and 2012; however, there is substantial variation across countries. -Housing-related policies in the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark provide comparatively high levels of support to both homeowners and non-homeowners, while those in Italy and Spain provide little support to either group. In contrast, housing policies in the United States provide some of the highest levels of support for homeowners and lowest levels of support for non-homeowners. -Older American homeowners have substantial housing wealth, but compared with their European peers, housing represents a somewhat smaller part of their net total wealth. -While the prevalence of housing debt among older adults is somewhat lower in the United States than in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden, among older homeowners with housing debt, Americans have the highest loan-to-value ratios and the highest proportion of homeowners whose homes may be at risk of going underwater. -If the housing equity of older Americans were completely monetized, median household income would increase by over a third – more than in countries like Sweden and Denmark, but well below countries like Spain and Italy. Across all countries in this study, tapping into housing equity could substantially reduce the share of older adults with household incomes below 50 percent of the median – the threshold for relative poverty. -However, even after annuitizing housing wealth, the share of poor older Americans would remain as high as, or higher than, the share of poor older Europeans before accounting for annuitized housing wealth. -Despite the potentially large impact of monetizing home equity on household incomes and the economic security of older Americans and Europeans, there remain impediments to tapping into home equity that may explain its low use. Objective obstacles include the high costs of withdrawing housing equity, uncertainty about life expectancy and the amount of financial resources required to support retirement, the adverse impact on eligibility for social benefits, and the concentration of housing wealth among (upper) middle- and higher-income individuals who are less likely to need additional resources in old age. Subjective obstacles include an aversion toward assuming additional debt in old age, different (often emotional) attitudes to housing compared with other types of wealth, bequest motives, and a lack of trust in financial institutions. The policy implications of the findings are:
-Home equity has a potentially important yet limited role in supporting old-age security. Even if objective obstacles related to the design and pricing of home equity release products were fully addressed, subjective reasons for avoiding home equity withdrawal and compositional differences in the concentration of housing wealth would still limit the scope of asset-based welfare. -These limitations notwithstanding, using home equity to supplement retirement incomes and improve retirement security remains a potentially attractive option for a substantial number of older adults who have built housing wealth over their life course, but may either have insufficient retirement incomes or face unexpected and expensive life events (e.g. long-term care needs). -What remains more uncertain and difficult to predict, though, are the long-run prospects for using home equity to support old-age security since younger generations of Americans and Europeans may find it more difficult to build home equity than their parents’ generation.