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Rent Control and Virtual Prices: A Case Study for Interwar Belgium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 July 2012

Leon Bettendorf  and
Erik Buyst
Leon Bettendorf
Affiliation:
Central Planning Bureau, P.B. 80510, 2508 GM Den Haag, The Netherlands, email: ljhb@cpb.nl
Erik Buyst
Affiliation:
Center for Economic Studies, University of Leuven, Naamsestraat 69, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium, email: erik.buyst@econ.kuleuven.ac.be.
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Abstract

After World War I rent control became a cornerstone of housing policy in many European countries, resulting in quantity constraints on the demand for housing. The theory on complete demand systems provides a framework for analyzing the effects of these policies on consumption. As a test case, a demand model is estimated to calculate virtual rent prices for interwar Belgium. The results are well in line with historical evidence, providing insight into the extent of rationing Simulations with the demand model show that the severe rent restrictions especially favored expenditures on food.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 57 , Issue 3 , September 1997 , pp. 654 - 673
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1997

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