The dynamics of homeownership among the 50+ in Europe

Agar Brugiavini, Viola Angelini, Guglielmo Weber, Mon, 03/12/2012

In January the UK government launched an initiative to help the elderly downsize into smaller homes – and provoked the ire of pensioner groups nationwide. This reluctance to downsize to among the elderly perplexes economists, who maintain that leveraging housing wealth can help pensioners maintain a good standard of living on a fixed income. CEPR DP8889 investigates what is behind European pensioners’ puzzling housing decisions.

Vox readers can download CEPR Discussion Paper 8889 for free here.

Journalists are entitled to free DP downloads on request; please contact [email protected]. To learn more about subscribing to CEPR's Discussion Paper Series, please visit the CEPR website.

URL: http://www.cepr.org/DP8889

Topics: Europe's nations and regions Poverty and income inequality Welfare state and social Europe

Tags: housing, life events, Retirement