This chapter explores housing as a foundation for wealth accumulation, emphasizing its dual role as both a consumable resource and an investment. My theoretical contributions are twofold: First, I argue that property rights can transform in-kind transfers into flexible, reliable wealth transfers, enabling recipients to invest in themselves and their children, regardless of the housing’s location. Second, I demonstrate how housing transfers reduce uncertainty and encourage future-oriented investments, thereby driving long-term wealth accumulation. Using three housing programs as case studies, I show that beneficiaries invest in human or physical capital, improving their employment prospects and income. I also examine mechanisms such as relocation, borrowing capacity, and time horizons, finding strong evidence for the latter two. Overall, the large changes to beneficiaries' economic behavior and outcomes suggest the possibility for important psychological, social, and political effects, which I explore in Chapters 4 and 5.

Most analyses of Indian housing policy focus on central-level programs in urban areas. I broaden this scope to examine both central and state-level policies in rural and urban areas over time. This approach reveals that, alongside policies accommodating informality, governments have consistently pursued initiatives to subsidize the construction and sale of formal-sector housing. I then explore why governments might pursue formal-sector housing. One explanation is its alignment with broader planning and development agendas. Another is that it is electorally strategic to create and allocate housing. A third explanation that is relevant considering the focus on ownership in Indian housing policy suggests that some leaders may have an ideological commitment to homeownership. After establishing the broader context of Indian housing policy, I detail the three policies examined in this book. Two policies are based in urban Mumbai, while the third is a national rural policy. Finally, I assess how these policies improve basic housing quality. I find that each policy achieves its immediate goal, with Chapters 3, 4, and 5 exploring the broader economic, social, and political impacts.

This chapter explores the effects of government-subsidized homeownership on dignity. I develop a two-part definition of dignity as beneficiaries' experienced agency in their own lives and in their relationships with others. This definition builds upon and engages with work in philosophy, history, political science, and international development. I further show how housing shapes individuals' perception of themselves and the future through quotes, causally identified effects, and a measure of dignity based on eye contact. Broadly, beneficiaries seem to be much more able to pursue their own goals and interests and assert themselves in society. I provide evidence for my theoretical mechanisms, which are related to wealth, certainty about the future, and the fact that housing is an important marker of status in society. This chapter highlights the importance of studying dignity in its own right, but it also serves as an important bridge connecting the effects on income and wealth, as explored in Chapter 3, to the effects on political behavior in Chapter 5.

India’s welfare state offers a wide array of initiatives, including pensions, subsidized loans, school lunches, employment guarantees, food rations, and subsidized housing. Unlike other programs, subsidized housing transfers wealth, significantly influencing household decision-making across various aspects of life. It shifts psychological and behavioral outcomes related to poverty and enhances beneficiaries' sense of control and relationships. In contexts where the poor are often neglected, these changes empower beneficiaries to advocate for their interests within their communities. The study finds the greatest benefits in programs that do not require relocation and in urban areas with dynamic real estate markets. Property rights are crucial for success. The chapter finally highlights the distributional consequences of subsidized housing, suggesting both positive and negative externalities on broader communities. Overall, the findings illustrate how wealth shapes household decision-making among low-income, upwardly mobile citizens and emphasize the need for welfare policies that promote inclusive and accountable democracies, especially as the middle class grows.