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On the Negative Relationship between Labour Income Uncertainty and Homeownership:Risk aversion vs Credit Constraints.

Diaz-Serrano, Mr. Luis

Abstract

In this paper we test for the first time whether the driving force behind the negative effect of income uncertainty on owner-occupancy propensities is risk aversion or credit constraints. To desentangle this puzzle we estimate reduced form equations using Italian data. Consistent with the previous empirical evidence in the US. our results cofirm that in Italy both labor income uncertainty and credit constraints exert a significant negative effect on the probability of homeownership. However, our main findings indicate that the negative relationship between labor income uncertainty and homeownership is driven by households' risk aversion.

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On he Nega i e Rela ionship be ween Labo Income Unce ain y and Homeowne ship: Risk A e sion s. C edi Cons ain s Luis Diaz-Se ano♣ Na ional Uni e si y o I eland, Maynoo h IZA Bonn, CREB Ba celona Abs ac : In his pape we es o he i s ime whe he he d i ing o ce behind he nega i e e ec o income unce ain y on owne -occupancy p opensi ies is isk a e sion o c edi cons ain s. To disen angle his puzzle we es ima e educed o m equa ions using I alian da a. Consis en wi h he p e ious empi ical e idence in he US, ou esul s con i m ha in I aly bo h labo income unce ain y and c edi cons ain s exe a signi ican nega i e e ec on he p obabili y o homeowne ship. Howe e , ou main indings indica e ha he nega i e ela ionship be ween labo income unce ain y and homeowne ship is d i en by households’ isk a e sion. Keywo ds: Homeowne ship, income unce ain y, c edi cons ain s, Risk a e sion JEL classi ica ion: D1, R0, J0 ♣ Na ional Uni e si y o I eland, Maynoo h, Depa men o Economics (Rhe o ic House), Co. Kilda e, I eland. E-mail: [email protected] Tel: 353-1-7083793 | Fax: 353-1-7083934. 1 1. In oduc ion Undoub edly owning one’s dwelling is no only a signal o pe sonal success bu also one o he mos impo an ways o weal h accumula ion. Hence, ba ie s o homeowne ship ha e adi ionally been an impo an esea ch and policy issue. His o ically, in mos o he de eloped economies he e has been a wide ange o public policies implemen ed so as o p omo e homeowne ship. These ange om impo an ax deduc ions and gene ous subsidies o he less a o ed homebuye s o he public p o ision o a o dable dwellings aimed o low-income households. Howe e , he success o hese policies is condi ion by sca ce public esou ces and excess demand om he less a o ed popula ion g oups. Hence, a o dable lending has also been a main ocus in he mo gage ma ke s in mos o he de eloped economies. Du ing he 1990s he mo gage indus y has de o ed a g ea e o o design mo gage p oduc s o acili a e he access o homeowne ship. These ange om impo an inno a ions in a o dable mo gage lending ha educes down paymen s o a minimum amoun o mo gage paymen p o ec ion insu ance policies. The la e a e specially aimed a mi iga ing he de as a ing e ec ha income unce ain y exe s on he homeowne ship p opensi ies, hough a e wi h limi ed success (see e.g. P yce and Keoghan, 2002, and Fo d and Quilga s, 2001, in he UK, and Ross and Too ell, 2004, in he US). Gi en he lack o liquidi y o home pu chases and ha inancing he pu chase o one’s dwelling en ails unde aking a long las ing high le el o indeb edness, income unce ain y becomes i sel as impo an as he le el o income when deciding he enu e s a us. 2 P e ious empi ical li e a u e on his issue obse es an unequi ocal nega i e e ec o income unce ain y on he p obabili y o homeowne ship. Acco ding o heo e ical models, income unce ain y is expec ed o exe an e ec on he enu e decisions a e conside ing isk a e sion, howe e , his assump ion has ne e been empi ically es ed. In his pape we es o he i s ime whe he he d i ing o ce behind he nega i e ela ionship be ween homeowne ship and income unce ain y is households’ a e sion o he isk o a mo gage de aul o on he con a y i is d i en by c edi cons ain s. The ele ance o ca ying ou such a es comes om he plausible conjec u e ha households wi h mo e ola ile incomes migh be also mo e c edi cons ained han household wi h s eadie incomes. Disen angling his puzzle is c i ical in o de o design public policies, imp o e a o dabili y o lending, and de elop mo e e ec i e mo gage insu ance policies aimed a p omo ing homeowne ship among hose households mos a income isk. The emainde o he pape is s uc u ed as ollows. In sec ion 2 we e iew he li e a u e analyzing he e ec o income unce ain y and c edi cons ain s on homeowne ship. Sec ion 3 desc ibes he da a se and he empi ical amewo k. Sec ion 4 p esen s he empi ical esul s, and sec ion 5 summa izes and concludes. 2. O e iew o he li e a u e Du ing he pas decade he e ec s o income unce ain y on homeowne ship ha e ecei ed conside able a en ion by economis s. Howe e , heo e ical models inco po a ing his e ec sys ema ically end o p o ide ambiguous p edic ions; 3 income unce ain y is expec ed o exe a nega i e o non-nega i e e ec depending on di e ences in he cons uc ion and he assump ions unde lying each model. De Sal o and Eeckhoud (1982) p edic ed a nega i e ela ionship be ween housing consump ion and he p obabili y o unemploymen . Using a simila amewo k Tu nbull e al. (1991) ound ha he ela ionship be ween income unce ain y and homeowne ship is gene ally nega i e, howe e , i migh be non- nega i e i he expec ed labo income en ails compensa ing wage di e en ials o income isk. Fu (1995) analyzes he demand o housing unde he p esence o liquidi y cons ain s. He shows ha wi h inc easing liquidi y and high isk-a e sion housing in es men migh all wi h inc easing income unce ain y, howe e , wi h cons an isk-a e sion and i in es o s do no inc ease liquidi y his esul could swi ch o a posi i e e ec . Despi e he ambigui y shown by heo e ical models, he e a e some s udies ha explici ly es he e ec o income unce ain y on he homeowne ship p opensi ies and ound an unequi ocal nega i e e ec . Hau in and Gill (1987), Hau in (1991) and Robs e al. (1999) epo e idence based on US da a, and Diaz-Se ano (2004) does o Spain and Ge many. The e is also an ample ange o s udies in he US analyzing he e ec o c edi cons ain s on homeowne ship. This li e a u e s a s wi h Linneman and Wach e (1989) who, using c i e ia based on mo gage equi emen s ha se indus y s anda ds, buil indica o s e lec ing he deg ee o household’s income and weal h cons ain s ela i e o home pu chases. They obse ed a nega i e e ec o c edi cons ain s on he p obabili y o homeowne ship. 4 Using a simila amewo k Hau in e al. (1997) obse ed ha he home enu e choices among young Ame ican households a e also qui e sensible o c edi cons ain s. Rosen hal (2002) p oxy household’s c edi cons ain s using di ec esponses o ques ions aimed a asce aining whe he he household had had any eques o c edi u ned down o jus pa ially g an ed. He also obse ed a lesse p opensi y o homeowne ship among c edi cons ained households. Que cia e al. (2003) assessed he impac o a o dable lending ini ia i es on homeowne ship a es. They obse ed a posi i e e ec on homeowne ship bu also no ed ha a e con olling o bo owing cons ain s he impac is no he same ac oss he less a o ed popula ion g oups. Ba ako a e al. (2003) s udied he e olu ion o he e ec bo owing cons ain s du ing he 1990’s. They conclude ha weal h cons ain s ha e a la ge nega i e e ec han income cons ain s on homeowne ship, bu also ha his e ec is dec easing o e he las decade. Linneman e al. (1997) upda ed Linneman and Wach e and cons uc ed a simula ion model o measu e he e ec o policy changes go e ning cons ain s and mo gage in e es a es on he agg ega ed a es o homeowne ship in he US. They also ind weal h cons ain s o ha e a la ge impac han income cons ain s. Bou assa (1995) is one o he ew s udies p o iding empi ical e idence ou side he US. He eplica ed Linneman and Wach e using Aus alian da a and obse ed a nega i e e ec o c edi cons ain on he homeowne ship p opensi ies. 3. Da a, a iables and empi ical amewo k 3.1. Da a The da a we use in ou s udy comes om he I alian Su ey o Household 5 Income and Weal h (SHIW). I is a panel su ey (annual om 1977 o 1987 and biannual om 1989 o 2000) ca ied ou by Banca d’I alia (Cen al Bank o I aly). The su ey con ains de ailed in o ma ion on household cha ac e is ics, employmen , income, asse s, inancial habi s, he ype o home enu e and se e al ques ions ega ding he homeowne ship and he bo owing condi ions. Addi ionally, s a ing om 1995, he su ey also includes o a o y ques ions add essed o he s udy o speci ic issues. Fo ou pu poses, he 1995 and 2000 wa es con ain ques ions add essed o he household heads ha allow us o cons uc a measu e o indi idual isk a e sion. We use he panel om 1986 o 2000 o es ima e income unce ain y and he wa es co esponding o 1995, 1998 and 2000 o e alua e c edi quali y cons ain s and o examine he de e minan s o he homeowne ship p opensi ies. 3.2. Owning/ en ing use cos s Owning and en ing cos s is a ele an a iable when analyzing he housing enu e choices. In his pape his a iable is used in he es ima ion o he p obabili y o homeowne ship, bu also o pe o m linea eg essions on p e e ed housing alues ac oss I alian households. We de ine he cos o owning ela i e o en ing as [] () k k k V R C pm p R =++−+, (1) 6 whe e Vk and Rk a e he de la ed a e age house alues and annual en s in egion k, espec i ely, is he nominal mo gage a e, p is he p ope y ax a e, m is he main enance a e, and is he ma ginal ax a e. In equa ion (1) he nume a o speci ically e e s o he owne occupancy oppo uni y cos (Hende son and Ioannides, 1987). The cos o owning ela i e o en ing is compu ed o each o he 20 egions a ailable in ou da a1. De la ed a e age house alues o ecen pu chases, a e age annual en s, and a e age nominal mo gage in e es a es a e di ec ly aken om ou da a se . In I aly, he p ope y ax a e anges om 3 pe cen o i s ime homebuye s o 7 pe cen , and he ma ginal ax a e is 19 pe cen up o he maximum amoun o 3,615€. We use hese alues o es ima e owning cos s in equa ion (1). Following Robs e al. (1999) we assume a main enance a e o 1.5 pe cen . 3.3. Measu ing bo owing cons ain s To measu e o wha ex en a household is c edi cons ained we ollow Linneman and Wach e (1989). Using hei no a ion, he h eshold house alue ha household i should aim in o de no being income cons ained (VI) and weal h cons ained (VW) is: 0.35 , 5 IW i iii I VVW ==⋅, (2) 1 These egions a e Piemon e, Valle d’Aos a, Lomba dia, T en ino, Vene o, F iuli, Ligu ia, Emilia Romagna, Toscana, Umb ia, Ma che, Lazio, Ab uzzi, Molise, Campania, Puglia, Basilica a, Calab ia, Sicilia and Sa degna. 7 whe e is he mo gage in e es a e, I is he annual household income, and W is he ne household weal h. Since house alues a e only obse ed o homeowne s, we use a subsample o uncons ained homeowne s, hose wi h obse ed house alue lowe 85 pe cen o bo h VI and VW, o es ima e he ollowing housing demand equa ion * iii VX u β =+, (3) whe e V* is he p e e ed house alue, X is a ec o o household cha ac e is ics which also includes house p e e ences, β is a pa ame e ec o o be es ima ed, and ui is a andom e o e m. In a second s age we use ˆ β o impu e a * ˆi V o each household ei he homeowne o en e . Hence, we assume ha a household is income cons ained (IC) o weal h cons ained (WC) i * ˆ0.9 I ii VV>⋅ o * ˆ0.9 W ii VV>⋅, espec i ely. Equa ion (3) is es ima ed using a pooled sample co e ing he wa es 1995, 1998 and 2000. Since using pooled da a may lead o ine icien es ima es we jus selec he las wa e he household has pa icipa ed. The explana o y a iables (X) in equa ion (3) a e a se o a iables ega ding he household, i.e. a squa ed polynomial on household income and he numbe o child en; some cha ac e is ics o he household head, i.e. a squa ed polynomial on age, ma i al s a us and gende ; a se o geog aphical dummies, i.e. egion and ci y size; he cos s o owning ela i e o en ing and yea dummies. 8 The linea es ima ion by OLS o he p e e ed housing alue equa ion (3) is epo ed in able 1. Mos o he a iables conside ed a e signi ican a 1 pe cen o be e . Bo h he household income and he age o he household head show a posi i e bu dec easing e ec . Highe p e e ed house alues a e obse ed in he No h-Eas o I aly and he Islands, and i is dec easing wi h he ci y size. Inse able 1 a ound he e Addi ionally, ou da ase also p o ides some ques ions ha allow us di ec ly measu e bo owing cons ain s in he same way as in Rosen hal (2002). These ques ions a e: C54. Du ing he las 12 mon hs did you household apply o a bank o a inancial company o a loan o a mo gage? C55. Was he applica ion g an ed in ull, in pa o ejec ed? C56. Du ing he las 12 mon hs did you o ano he membe o you household conside he possibili y o applying o a bank o a inancial company o a loan o a mo gage bu hen change his/he mind hinking ha he applica ion would be ejec ed? F om answe s o C54-C56 we c ea e a dummy a iable ha akes 1 i he loan was denied, jus pa ly g an ed, o i any membe e ained om applying conce ned o being u ned down. We call his di ec p oxy o being c edi cons ained DCC. Addi ionally o IC and WC we also use DCC o examine he e ec o c edi cons ain s on he p obabili y o homeowne ship. Table 2 shows a 15 coe icien s o be es ima ed, and ν i is he e o e m. I we expand equa ion (7) o conside he e ec o bo h c edi cons ain s (CC) and labo income unce ain y (2i ε σ ) as measu ed in exp ession (5) we ha e *' 2 ˆ ( 0) ( 0) ( 1,..., ) ii i iii yIy IH CC i N ε δλσπν =>= + ++> = , (8) F om equa ion (8) we should expec λ <0 (e.g., Linneman and Wach e , 1989, Bou assa, 1995, Hau in e al., 1997, Rosen hal, 2002, and Ba ako a e al., 2003), and π <0 (Hau in, 1991, Robs e al., 1999, and Diaz-Se ano, 2004a). Es ima es o he pa ame e s in equa ion (8) coming om a single uni a ia e p obi model will be, howe e , inconsis en i ν i and he e o e m o a po en ial bina y equa ion whe e CCi is he endogenous a iable a e co ela ed (see Woolb idge 2002, p. 477). In his con ex , he bi a ia e p obi model would p o ide consis en es ima es. As men ioned ea lie , he main ocus o he pape aims o es whe he he e ec o labo income unce ain y ( 2i ε σ ) is d i en by household’s isk-a e sion ( o e.g. a mo gage de aul ) o on he con a y i is d i en by household’s c edi cons ain s (e.g. no access o he mo gage ma ke ). This es equi es es ima ing equa ion (8) o di e en popula ion g oups; c edi s. non-c edi cons ained, and isk s. non- isk a e se. The size and he signi icance o he es ima ed e ec s o π in equa ion (8) o each o hese popula ion g oups will allow us disen angling he puzzle. As in Rosen hal (2002), he model consis s o wo equa ions and can be exp essed as ollows 16 *' 11 111 ( 0) ( 0) ( 1,..., ) ii ii yIy IH i N δν =>= +> = *'2 22 2222 ˆ ( 0) ( 0) ( 1,..., ) ii iii yIy IH i N ε δσπν =>= ++> = (9) whe e y i1* is he la en a iable indica ing he p opensi y o be o no c edi cons ained, o isk o non- isk a e se, and yi2* is he la en indica o ega ding he p opensi y o homeowne ship, whe e 12 (, ) ii ν ν ~(0,0,1,1, )BVN ρ . The ma ixes H1i and H2i do no need o con ain he same a iables. The explana o y a iables in he enu e choice equa ions (8) and (9) a e a se o household head’s cha ac e is ics, i.e educa ion, a squa ed polynomial on age, ma i al s a us, and sel -employmen ; a se o household’s a iables, i.e. size, numbe o dependen membe s (no income ecipien s), household income; a se o dummies collec ing he c edi si ua ion (ou s anding bank deb s); a se o geog aphical dummies, i.e. egional dummies, ci y size and household’s loca ion; and as ou key a iables we include labo income unce ain y and a se o dummies ega ding c edi cons ain s. Howe e , since in he sys em o equa ions (9) he enu e choice equa ion is speci ically es ima ed o c edi o non-c edi cons ain households, dummies e e ing o c edi cons ain s a e d opped om his equa ion. In he sys em o equa ions (9) we ace bo h a censo ing and obse a ion ule o bo h yi1 and yi2, which lead us o conside he sample selec ion issue. Hence, we need o con ol o co ela ion be ween he e o e ms and he sequence o “choices”. Fo each enu e ou come we ha e h ee ypes o obse a ion: being (non-)c edi cons ained; being homeowne ; and no being homeowne . Analogously, we can d aw he same sequence in he case ha he i s la en 17 indica o (yi1*) e e s o he p opensi y o being o no isk a e se. The uncondi ional p obabili ies o his bina y ee a e gi en by: 12 21122 12 21122 111 (1 1) (, ,) (1 0) (, ,) (0)1() ii ii ii ii ii Py y H H Py y H H Py H δ δρ δ δρ δ ===Φ ===Φ −− ==−Φ ∩ ∩ (10) whe e Φ and Φ2 deno e he uni a ia e and bi a ia e s anda d no mal cumula i e dis ibu ion unc ions, espec i ely. And, he esul ing log-likelihood unc ion is gi en by () 1 2 11 2 21122 1 1 211 22 11 10 0 log ( , , ) log ( , , ) log 1 ( ) , i i ii i ii y y ii i yy y LogL H H HH H δδρ δδρ δ = = == = =Φ + +Φ −−+ −Φ ∑ ∑∑ (11) Finally, o es ima e he models (8) and (9) we es ic ou sample o homeowne s ha ing ou s anding mo gage paymen s and ha pu chased hei dwelling a e 1989. By applying he o me es ic ions we keep ou o he sample households ha ha e pu chased hei dwelling oo long ago, ha e no needed a mo gage o ha e inhe i ed he dwelling. Ob iously, hese households migh ne e expe ience a mo gage de aul , he e o e, hey a e no expec ed o ollow he same choice ules ha homeowne s ha a e cu en ly mo gage bo owe s. By conside ing hese households in he sample he ue ela ionship be ween income 18 unce ain y and he p obabili y o homeowne ship migh be “obscu ed”. Gi en ha he necessa y in o ma ion o know whe he a household is c edi cons ained o isk-a e se is only a ailable om 1995, o es ima e ou econome ic model we pool he co esponding c oss-sec ions o 1995, 1998 and 2000. In o de o a oid ine iciency we jus ake he las wa e he household has pa icipa ed. 4. Econome ic esul s Table 6 and 7 epo he econome ic es ima ion o he p obabili y o homeowne ship. Table 6 ocuses on he uni a ia e and bi a ia e p obi es ima es o e alua e he e ec o labo income unce ain y and c edi cons ain s on he p obabili y o homeowne ship (equa ion 8). Recall ha gi en he nonlinea na u e o he uni a ia e and bi a ia e p obi models, he es ima ed coe icien s lack any economic in e p e a ion and a e jus used o de e mine he sign o he ela ionship. Howe e , a his s age his is jus wha we a e in e es ed in. The c edi cons ain equa ion in he bi a ia e p obi model is included o a oid he inconsis ency o he pa ame e s in he homeowne ship equa ion. I is wo h no ing ha co ela ion be ween bo h equa ions u ns ou o be highly signi ican (0 ρ ≠), which means ha con olling o his co ela ion is c i ical. Households wi h olde household heads and wi h mo e dependen membe s ha e highe p opensi y o be c edi cons ained. Household income, educa ion o he household head and his/he sel -employmen s a us exe s a nega i e e ec on such a p opensi y. This equa ion also includes a se o dummy a iables collec ing he e ec o he ou s anding bank deb s o he pu chase o di e en goods. We ind 19 his se o a iables o be mo e impo an on weal h cons ain s han on income cons ain s. Ou main indings conce n he owne -occupancy equa ion. Conside i s he ole o he c edi cons ain s. Consis en wi h he p e ious e idence, we ind ha in I aly bo h weal h cons ain s (WC) and income cons ain s (IC) exe a signi ican and nega i e e ec on he p obabili y o homeowne ship, hough wi h a ema kably la ge e ec o he weal h cons ain s. The o me esul coincides wi h wha was obse ed in he US5. No e ha ou p oxy o c edi cons ain s (DCC) based on di ec ques ions shows also a signi ican and nega i e e ec . The es ima es coming om he bi a ia e p obi model also con i m ha he c edi cons ain pa ame e s in he homeowne ship equa ion a e qui e sensible o he omission o he endogenous na u e o he household’s c edi cons ain s p opensi ies. We ind a signi ican downwa ds bias in he c edi cons ain s pa ame e s coming om he uni a ia e p obi model, -0.38 s. -0.78 o income cons ain s (models 1 and 2, able 6) and – 3.33 s. –4.03 o weal h cons ain s (models 3 and 4, able 6). Tu ning ou a en ion o he e ec o income unce ain y on homeowne ship, consis en wi h he p e ious empi ical e idence o he US, Ge many and Spain, we also obse e a signi ican and nega i e e ec in I aly. O he di e ences ac oss models a e obse ed in he e ec o o he a iables conside ed in he owne - occupancy equa ion, bu he signs pe sis en ly emain in all models. Owne - 5 We ha e also ca ied ou a numbe o al e na i e speci ica ions. In models whe e income and weal h cons ain s a e simul aneously conside ed, income cons ain s ha e u ned ou o be s a is ically insigni ican . The e o e, he e ec o weal h cons ain s domina es o e income cons ain s. Al e na i ely, we ha e also es ima ed a i a ia e p obi model using he simula ed maximum likelihood me hod ha simul aneously es ima es he p obabili y o homeowne ship and he weal h and income cons ain s p opensi ies, and once mo e we obse e ha he weal h cons ain s e ec domina es o e he income cons ain s e ec . 20 occupancy is mo e likely in smalle ci ies (less han 500,000 inhabi an s), and ou o he ci y cen e and in isola ed a eas. As expec ed, household head age, amily income and being ma ied aise he p opensi y o own, whe eas household size and educa ion exe a nega i e e ec . This coun e in ui i e esul con as s wi h he obse ed in Spain, bu coincides wi h p e ious e idence o Ge many (see Diaz- Se ano, 2004). Inse able 6 a ound he e Tu ning o ou majo indings, we ocus now on he es ima es o he e ec o income unce ain y on he p obabili y o homeowne ship shown in able 7. Recall ha his es ima es comes om he sys em o equa ions (9). Al hough all models in able 7 include he same explana o y a iables (excep c edi cons ain s in he homeowne ship equa ion) han he es ima es epo ed in able 6, o he sake o simplici y we ocus on he es ima ed pa ame e s and e ec s associa ed o labo income unce ain y in he homeowne ship equa ion. To acili a e in e p e a ion and he compa ison be ween al e na i e models we also epo he a e age ma ginal e ec s (APE). The single e ec o labo income unce ain y in he homeowne ship equa ion can be compu ed as in he uni a ia e p obi as 2 22 22 2 () ii i H φ δσππ +⋅, whe e φ is he s anda d no mal densi y and π 2 is he pa ame e associa ed o he labo income unce ain y (Ch is o ides e al., 1997). We ha e es ima ed he APE o di e en popula ion g oups depending on whe he hey a e o no c edi cons ained, and whe he hey a e o no isk a e se. 21 These esul s a e c ucial o de e mine he na u e o he nega i e ela ionship be ween homeowne ship and labo income unce ain y. Fi s a all, we shall ema k ha he high s a is ical signi icance o he co ela ion e ms sugges s ha con olling o sample selec ion is c i ical o ob ain unbiased es ima es. Di e ences in he APE o labo income unce ain y be ween c edi and non- c edi cons ained a e ai ly modes , -0.067 s. -0.078 o weal h (un)cons ained, espec i ely, and –0.289 s. -0.236 o income (un)cons ained, espec i ely. Majo di e ences in his nega i e ela ionship a e epo ed when conside ing isk- a e se s. non isk-a e se households, -0.319 s. –0.041, espec i ely. Fo he isk a e se, a 10 pe cen inc ease in he a e age labo income unce ain y dec eases abou -3.25% he p obabili y o being homeowne , whe eas o he non- isk a e se his e ec has u ned ou o be s a is ically insigni ican . Fo income (un)cons ained households hese pe cen ages a e –2.95% s. –2.41%, espec i ely, and –0.68% s. –0.80% o weal h (un)cons ained households. These esul s sugges ha he nega i e link be ween income unce ain y and he homeowne ship p opensi ies is d i en by isk-a e sion. 5. Conclusions and discussion In his pape we ha e in es iga ed he e ec o labo income unce ain y and c edi cons ain s on he p obabili y o homeowne ship in I aly. Consis en wi h he p e ious empi ical e idence, we ind ha in I aly c edi cons ained households and wi h mo e ola ile incomes a e less likely o own hei dwelling. As in he US, we also obse e ha al hough bo h ypes o cons ain s a e impo an , he weal h cons ain s e ec domina es o e he income cons ain s e ec . 22 As he main ocus o his pape we ha e in es iga ed o he i s ime he unde lying na u e in he nega i e link be ween labo income unce ain y and homeowne ship. To ca y ou he es we ha e pe o med educed o m es ima es using he bi a ia e p obi model wi h sample selec ion. We obse e ha he gap in he es ima ed nega i e e ec o income unce ain y on homeowne ship be ween c edi and non-c edi cons ained households is imma e ial. Howe e , a ma kedly la ge gap is ound be ween isk and non- isk a e se households, and being indeed s a is ically insigni ican o he non- isk a e se. These esul s indica e ha he nega i e e ec o income unce ain y on he homeowne ship p opensi ies is d i en by household’s isk a e sion. The co olla y o ou esul s sugges s ha ins i u ions and he banking indus y should de o e g ea e e o s o p omo e homeowne ship among hose households mos a income isk. P obably, mo e e icien mo gage p o ec ion paymen insu ance policies should be designed in o de o mi iga e he de as a ing e ec o income unce ain y on he homeowne ship p opensi ies o he mo e isk-a e se households. We ind his is an impo an issue ha s ill is unde - esea ched. 23 Re e ences Ba ako a I., R.W. Bos ic, P.S. Calem, S.M. Wach e , 2003, Does c edi quali y ma e o homeowne ship?, Jou nal o Housing Economics 12, 318-336. Bou assa S.C., 1995, The impac s o bo owing cons ain s on home-owne ship in Aus alia, U ban S udies 32, 1163-1173. Ch is o ides L.N., T. S engos, R. Swidinsky, 1997, On he calcula ion o ma ginal e ec s in he bi a ia e p obi model, Economics Le e s 54, 203-208. DeSal o, J.S., L.R. Eeckhoud , 1982, Household beha io unde income unce ain y in a monocen ic u ban a ea, Jou nal o U ban Economics 11, 98-11. 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Unemploymen insu ance o mo gage bo owe s: is i iable and does i co e hose mos in need?. Eu opean. Jou nal o Housing Policy 2, 87-114. Que cia, R.G., G.W. McCa hy, and .M. Wach e , 2003, The impac s o a o dable lending e o s on homeowne ship a es, Jou nal o Housing Economics 12, 29-59. Robs , J., R. Dei z, and K. McGold ick, 1999, Income a iabili y, unce ain y and housing enu e choice, Regional Science and U ban Economics 29, 219-229. Ross, S.L., Too ell, G.M.B, 2004. Redlining, he communi y ein es men ac , and p i a e mo gage insu ance. Jou nal o U ban Economics 55, 278-297. 31 Table 6: Es ima es o he e ec o labo income unce ain y and c edi cons ain s on he p obabili y o homeowne ship (uni a ia e and bi a ia e p obi s). Uni a ia e P obi (Model 1) Bi a ia e P obi (Model 2) Uni a ia e P obi (Model 3) Bi a ia e P obi (Model 4) Homeowne ship Homeowne ship IC Homeowne ship Homeowne ship WC Coe . z-s a Coe . z-s a Coe . z-s a Coe . z-s a Coe . z-s a Coe . z-s a Cons an e m 1.3253 4.61 1.6403 5.88 2.0252 12.76 3.7505 9.07 4.1114 11.33 2.2036 7.74 Age -0.0160 -1.86 -0.0188 -2.25 0.0158 8.64 -0.0503 -3.70 -0.0481 -4.06 0.0090 6.87 Age squa ed 0.0001 1.11 0.0001 1.63 0.0004 3.21 0.0004 3.79 Household size -0.1056 -5.25 -0.1069 -5.53 -0.1015 -3.65 -0.1136 -4.61 Ma ied 0.2942 6.04 0.2640 5.53 0.3137 4.18 0.2572 3.79 Dependen 0.2617 10.80 -0.0124 -0.76 Yea s o Schooling 0.0148 2.37 0.0087 1.47 -0.0349 -6.88 -0.0255 -3.01 -0.0340 -4.51 -0.0361 -6.02 Sel -employed 0.1738 3.36 0.1939 3.77 0.0960 1.24 -0.3650 -5.55 -0.4545 -7.04 -0.4621 -7.62 Income unce ain y -0.5466 -5.55 -0.5239 -5.95 -0.2968 -2.73 -0.3123 -3.46 Family income 1.2⋅10-5 7.04 9.3⋅10-6 5.91 -0.0001 -38.89 3.9⋅10-6 3.01 8.8⋅10-7 0.87 -2.3⋅10-5 -19.23 Rela i e cos o owning -0.0005 -3.26 -0.0004 -2.67 -0.0003 -1.74 -0.0002 -1.34 Loca ion dummies (base-o he s) Isola ed – coun yside 0.2208 1.95 0.2294 2.07 0.0420 0.24 Town ou ski s -0.3659 -4.47 -0.3526 -4.37 -0.3660 -3.01 Be ween ou ski s and ci y cen e -0.3606 -4.39 -0.3312 -4.11 -0.3967 -3.29 Ci y cen e -0.4840 -5.71 -0.4489 -5.38 -0.5692 -4.62 32 Ci y size (base < 500,000 inhab.) >500.000 inhab. -0.3676 -6.60 -0.3456 -6.34 -0.3328 -4.88 C edi cons ain s DCC (Di ec answe om esponden s) -0.4970 -4.43 -0.4917 -4.49 -0.4963 -3.10 -0.4476 -3.27 IC (Income cons ained) -0.3881 -5.93 -0.7887 -9.94 WC (Weal h cons ained) -3.3366 -45.26 -4.0331 -51.64 Ou s anding bank deb dummies Pu chase o eal goods -0.1362 -0.22 0.2077 0.63 Pu chase o mo o ehicles -0.1321 -1.38 0.1401 2.35 Pu chase o u ni u e, elec ical appliances 0.2601 2.17 0.2290 2.88 Pu chase o non-du able goods 0.2742 0.92 0.4807 2.96 ρ Wald es H0:ρ=0 0.4485 55.56 0.7874 9.94 Sample size 5,845 No e: All he equa ions include yea and egional dummies (20 egions). 33 Table 7: Es ima es o he e ec o labo income unce ain y on he p obabili y o homeowne ship (bi a ia e p obi s wi h sample selec ion) Bi a ia e p obi wi h sample selec ion Coe icien z- alue ρAPE ∆p(y2i=1) wi h 10% inc ease in 2 ˆi ε σ Wald es H0:ρ=0 Sample size Income cons ained (IC) IC=1 -0.8081 -6.09 0.0450 -0.2894 -2.95% 1.16 5,845 IC=0 -0.5976 -6.44 -0.2362 -2.41% 1.16 5,845 Weal h cons ained (WC) WC=1 -0.1678 -1.55 -0.9827 -0.0669 -0.68% 1115.67 5,845 WC=0 -0.1968 -3.53 -0.0785 -0.80% 1115.67 5,845 Risk and non isk a e se Risk a e se=1 -0.8029 -4.70 0.0910 -0.319 -3.25% 7.89 2,944 Risk a e se=0 -0.1041 -0.35 -0.041 -0.42% 7.89 2,944