CaCHE blog - Britain's economic slowdown, the role of housing and land, and what to do about it
Published: 22 February 2023
Research insight, Thought piece
Professor Ken Gibb, Director of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence, reflects on two recent newspaper articles which discuss unaffordable homes, mortgage debt reliance and land value tax
Prof Ken Gibb is director and principal investigator of the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE). He is professor of housing economics (urban studies) within the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow
In the last few weeks, two eminent broadsheet columnists coincidentally produced dovetailing pieces about the strategic need to remake housing policy. Will Hutton, in the Observer, detailed the nature and wider significance of our wasteful housing (Hutton compared the ossifying declines and policy mistakes in sixteenth century Venice and eighteenth century Spain as precursors for what is going on in the UK now). Martin Wolf in the Financial Times recognises that many of these weaknesses stem from government (and, with exceptions, economists) resistance to thinking seriously about land as a factor of production and makes an economic and moral argument for Land Value Taxation (LVT), one backed by recent international econometric research.
The two provocative columns do us a useful service. They provide a sober appraisal and diagnosis of many of the key things that are wrong with the housing system (arguably, they could have also drawn out the link to reduced productivity). Second, they argue the case for a different approach and try to respond to the likely challenges from those opposed. It is a formidable political task that requires an articulate framing of the benefits and costs, and yes, compensation for losers, as well as stressing the importance of resetting the course of our economic system away from the rocks of excessive reliance on the flawed siren of Anglo-Saxon residential capitalism.
To read the full blog visit the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence website
First published: 22 February 2023