Does homeownership hinder labor market activity? Evidence from housing privatization and restitution

Abstract

We study whether homeownership hinders labor force participation and increases unemployment. Using a unique dataset from the city of Brno, Czech Republic, we exploit housing reforms that followed the Velvet Revolution, and the subsequent fall of communism, as a source of exogenous assignment of homeownership. Across several estimation approaches, we do not find any evidence of homeownership hindering labor market activity. The estimated effects on labor force participation are around zero and our estimates for unemployment suggest that homeownership reduces it by four to six percentage points. Homeownership thus appears to benefit labor market performance.