打印

作者

Sarah Quincy

来源

来源 JOURNAL OF URBAN ECONOMICS,Vol.132,P.

语言

英文

关键字

Income shocks;Housing spillovers;Great Depression;G21;H23;N22;R21;R31

作者单位

Vanderbilt University, Economics, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, United States;Vanderbilt University, Economics, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, United States

摘要

This paper documents how a one-time income shock can alter the household wealth distribution through local housing market channels. In 1936, the United States government unexpectedly gave World War I veterans a large income transfer. This payment, equivalent to 1936 per capita income, greatly improved recipients’ 1940 home values and homeownership rates compared to those of their 1930 neighbors. These home value gaps widened as the spatial intensity of the shock increased but only for likely home purchasers. Loan-level data suggest this combination of direct benefits and negative neighborhood spillovers derived from veterans crowding out other potential borrowers.