The widening gap between personal income and the cost of housing is linked to poor health, preventable deaths, and an increased risk of suicide. This is confirmed by research published in the “Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health” that has analyzed data from 27 countries: Australia; Austria; Belgium; Canada; Czech Republic; Estonia; France; Finland; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Japan; Latvia; Luxembourg; Lithuania; Norway; New Zealand; Poland; Portugal; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; spain; Sweden; Swiss; the UK, and USA
The authors of the report acknowledge, however, that the situation es reversible if state investment in social services in areas such as unemployment and pensionspublic housing promotion policies and rent controls can reduce such risks,
Rich countries have promoted home ownership through policy measures, but have paid relatively little attention to affordable housing.
Although the difficulty of access to housing is associated with poor health at the personal level, it is not clear what impact this could have at the population level, nor whether social policies could modify these risks.
The researchers drew on Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) national statistics from 27 member countries for the period 2000 to 2019, which included the 2008 global financial crisis.
Mortality figures focused on preventable deaths, classified as treatable (prevented through timely provision of medical care) and avoidable (avoided through public health policies); and the suicides as a representation of the “despair deaths” associated with economic hardship.
To obtain country-level data on unaffordable housing, the researchers relied on housing cost-to-income data, to include rents; Assumed rental value for owner-occupants; and maintenance and other associated costs, as a percentage of disposable household income.
They then analyzed the per capita social spending of each country’s population, to include pensions and unemployment benefits, medical care, and housing.
They specifically assessed the effect of two measures of housing policy on mortality: the size of a country’s social housing stock and the presence of rent controls. The largest stock of social housing was defined as more than 10% of the total housing supply (5 out of 27 countries). Rent control includes controls on the initial rent charged and/or regulated rents and/or negotiated applied in all rental sectors (13 of the 27 countries).
Their analysis showed that the relationship cost-income Housing was strongly associated with preventable and treatable deaths, as well as suicides during the period after the global financial crisis (2009-17), but not in the period before (2000-08). ).
The study also revealed that social spending on pensions and unemployment benefits was protective, reducing the death rate associated with unaffordable housing. In countries with a higher stock of social housing, the link between unaffordable housing and preventable/treatable deaths and suicides weakened.
They also observed similar patterns in countries with rent controls: In countries without this measure, unaffordable housing was strongly linked to preventable/treatable deaths and suicides.
Difficulty in accessing housing can affect health in several ways: by reducing spending on good nutrition, heating, and medical care; through psychological stress; and through unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, all of which are likely to worsen an economic downturn, such as the one experienced after the global financial crisis, the researchers suggest.
This finding aligns with existing studies that social spending protects households from economic hardship.
“We also show that social spending on retirement and unemployment benefits was significantly associated with lower mortality rates. This finding aligns with existing studies that social spending protects households from economic hardship.
Housing policy measures are also key, they add. «First, heSocial housing for large segments of the population appears to be associated with lower mortality risks…Second, rent controls attempt to keep living costs affordable, particularly for low-income residents, by limiting the amount landlords can demand to rent a home. In general, these protective measures protect households against suffering from stressors induced by the cost of housing.
The researchers warn that it is an observational study and, as such, it cannot establish the cause. The researchers acknowledge several limitations to their findings. These include the inability to distinguish between different socioeconomic groups or include changes in national housing policy over time.
However, they conclude: “Our findings suggest that the housing cost burden may be related to population health…Unfortunately, as there was increasing pressure to cut social spending after the economic crisis, a number an increasing number of households are facing this.”