Asylum Seekers and House Prices: Evidence from the United Kingdom

38 Pages Posted: 15 Nov 2016 Last revised: 4 Aug 2020

See all articles by William D. Lastrapes

William D. Lastrapes

University of Georgia - C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business - Department of Economics

Thomas Lebesmuehlbacher

Xavier University

Date Written: May 31, 2020

Abstract

We estimate the effect of asylum seekers on house prices in England and Wales from 2004 to 2015, and find, using panel data and time series methods, that the government's dispersal policies have had small but statistically significant negative effects on housing prices, especially for lower-priced and lower-quality housing units. Our panel data regressions rely on variation across time and localities, and account for endogeneity bias using instrumental variables, to identify these causal effects. Time series regressions depend on plausibly exogenous nationwide flows of new asylum seekers, and provide evidence that negative house price effects are larger in areas that supported Brexit.

Suggested Citation

Lastrapes, William D. and Lebesmuehlbacher, Thomas, Asylum Seekers and House Prices: Evidence from the United Kingdom (May 31, 2020). Journal of Housing Economics, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2868420 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2868420

William D. Lastrapes

University of Georgia - C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business - Department of Economics ( email )

Terry College of Business
Athens, GA 30602-6254
United States
706-542-3569 (Phone)
706-542-3376 (Fax)

Thomas Lebesmuehlbacher (Contact Author)

Xavier University ( email )

3800 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45207
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
261
Abstract Views
1,508
Rank
188,239
PlumX Metrics