Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing

Substituting maintenance of existing fixed assets for investment in new assets, and thus affecting their depreciation, can play a major role in the economic decisions of low-income agents. We develop a theoretical framework that shows that poorer households, which generally face relatively higher ad...

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Autores principales: Hernandez, Manuel A., Trupkin, Danilo R.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Elsevier 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142886
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author Hernandez, Manuel A.
Trupkin, Danilo R.
author_browse Hernandez, Manuel A.
Trupkin, Danilo R.
author_facet Hernandez, Manuel A.
Trupkin, Danilo R.
author_sort Hernandez, Manuel A.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Substituting maintenance of existing fixed assets for investment in new assets, and thus affecting their depreciation, can play a major role in the economic decisions of low-income agents. We develop a theoretical framework that shows that poorer households, which generally face relatively higher adjustment (moving) costs and more credit constraints, will adjust their home maintenance decisions to a higher degree than richer households after an income change. We test our predictions using a panel of homeowners from the American Housing Survey for 1997-2011. We find that the income elasticity of maintenance is higher among low- versus high-income households and that the adjustment differences are more acute for permanent than for transitory income changes. For every dollar increase in the estimated permanent and transitory income, home maintenance expenses will increase by 5.2 and 2.9 cents in the lower income tertile and by zero and 0.5 cents in the upper tertile.
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spelling CGSpace1428862025-02-24T06:49:32Z Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing Hernandez, Manuel A. Trupkin, Danilo R. income housing elasticity investment households assets household consumption depreciation Substituting maintenance of existing fixed assets for investment in new assets, and thus affecting their depreciation, can play a major role in the economic decisions of low-income agents. We develop a theoretical framework that shows that poorer households, which generally face relatively higher adjustment (moving) costs and more credit constraints, will adjust their home maintenance decisions to a higher degree than richer households after an income change. We test our predictions using a panel of homeowners from the American Housing Survey for 1997-2011. We find that the income elasticity of maintenance is higher among low- versus high-income households and that the adjustment differences are more acute for permanent than for transitory income changes. For every dollar increase in the estimated permanent and transitory income, home maintenance expenses will increase by 5.2 and 2.9 cents in the lower income tertile and by zero and 0.5 cents in the upper tertile. 2021-04-01 2024-05-22T12:11:15Z 2024-05-22T12:11:15Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142886 en https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2615603 Open Access Elsevier Hernandez, Manuel A.; and Trupkin, Danilo R. 2021. Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing. Review of Economic Dynamics 40(April 2021): 128-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.red.2020.09.004
spellingShingle income
housing
elasticity
investment
households
assets
household consumption
depreciation
Hernandez, Manuel A.
Trupkin, Danilo R.
Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing
title Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing
title_full Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing
title_fullStr Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing
title_full_unstemmed Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing
title_short Asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich: Application to housing
title_sort asset maintenance as hidden investment among the poor and rich application to housing
topic income
housing
elasticity
investment
households
assets
household consumption
depreciation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/142886
work_keys_str_mv AT hernandezmanuela assetmaintenanceashiddeninvestmentamongthepoorandrichapplicationtohousing
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