KEY INFORMATION
Using the readings supplied, critically argue in support of a single one of the following interventions to improve housing affordability:
1. Restricting credit to acquire property (e.g. tax added to mortgage interest, increased Loan-to-Value ratios, Debt-to-Income limits).
2. Taxing capital gains (e.g. comprehensive capital gains tax on increase in price of land or property [land + improvements])
3. Incentives to increase supply (e.g. allowing intensification [more units/parcel of land], building more state housing, or influencing costs of transport via congestion taxes/public transit development & subsidy)
Word Limit: 1500 excluding reference list (you must give the word count on the front page of the essay).
Font = 12pt, Line Spacing = 1.5 Hand-in Details A softcopy of the essay must be submitted via Canvas. Ensure that your name and student ID number appears on the essay and number all pages.
Assessment Criteria Essays will be assessed in terms of the following criteria:
Structure. Clear introduction, structured argument in the main body of the essay and conclusion (see Part 3 of this handout for more information)
Content. Appropriate and effective argument based on understanding of the readings and appropriate use of evidence. The readings must be your primary sources. Two paragraphs must critique the premises of the other two alternative interventions. For example, if you elect to argue for increased supply, one paragraph must critique the argument for restricting credit and another paragraph must critique capital gains taxation. Presentation. Appropriate professional presentation.
PART 2- KEY READINGS The following readings provide you with information to formulate your essay. Note: Articles are presented in alphabetical order.
Beer, A, Kearins, B and Pieters, H (2007) Housing affordability and planning in Australia: the challenge of policy under neo-liberalism, Housing Studies, 22(1), pp 11-24. (This is a discursive paper on the intersection between property economics and planning policy)
Forrest, R, Murie, A and Williams P (1990) Home Ownership: Differentiation and Fragmentation, London: Unwin Hyman, pp. 98- 126. (This chapter provides a readable narrative of housing policies targeted at low-income buyers in Britain during the 1980s and the diversity that exists in housing markets)
Meen, G, Gibb, K, Leishman, C and Nygaard, C (2016) Housing Economics: A Historical Approach. London: Palgrave MacMillan UK, pp. 243-274. (This chapter provides a long-run history of UK house prices and discusses determinants from the demand side such as credit availability and buy-vsrent decisions. There is no need to understand the mathematical models [unless you want to], but do pay attention to the discussions on the surrounding concepts).
Murphy, L (2009) Market rules: neoliberal housing policy in New Zealand in Glynn, S (ed.) Where the Other Half Lives: Low-income Housing in a Neoliberal World, London: Pluto Press, pp. 195-216. (This paper provides a history of government housing policy in NZ, concentrating on the provision of state housing and policy towards those on low incomes).
Quigley, JM and Raphael, S (2004) Is housing unaffordable? Why isn’t it more affordable? Journal of Economic Perspectives 18(1), pp. 191-214. (This paper explores trends in the costs of both homeownership and renting in the USA, with speculation on the causes of increasing unaffordability for low-income households. There is no need to understand the mathematical models, but do pay attention to the discussion on surrounding concepts).
Schill, MH (2005) Regulations and housing development: what we know. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research 8(1), pp. 5-19. (This paper discusses government policies that indirectly inflate housing prices and examples from the USA of attempts to remove these barriers).
NOTE: You are not required to understand the specifics of any mathematical models in the papers but you should be aware of the key findings and their implications.
Additional Reading The readings that you have been given provide sufficient information to produce an excellent essay. If you wish to pursue additional references, please ensure that the source is reputable and the text is accessible. The Key Readings above must be the major source material for your essay.
PART 3- FAQ (from years past)
Qn: What is an essay? Ans: An essay is a structured argument. It consists of an introduction (a statement outlining the proposition to be discussed and usually an outline of the structure of the essay), an argument/analysis (a coherent set of arguments that cites the relevant literature in support of the argument being developed) and a conclusion (a clear statement that outlines the key points of the argument presented and addresses the implications of this argument). An essay is NOT a series of bullet points, a list of issues, or an annotated bibliography (i.e. a summary of an article or series of articles). Your essay must include a correctly formatted reference list (i.e. a complete list of the sources that you cite in your essay).
Qn: Can I give my own opinion? Ans: An essay requires that you have an opinion. However, your opinion must be informed, and supported, by reference to legitimate sources. Appropriate opinion/argument: “The boom-slump nature of house prices has significant implications for home owners (see Badcock, 2000).” Inappropriate argument: “I think everybody makes money out of owning a home in Auckland”- (this statement would need to be backed-up by supporting evidence as the opposite could be argued).
Qn: Why is there a word limit and is the word limit strictly enforced? A word limit forces you to edit your own work so as to address the key issues in a concise manner (see the Orwell reading). There is some flexibility (up to 10%) in applying the word limit. However, if your essay substantially exceeds the word limit then you will lose marks, as you will have failed to adhere to the guidelines set for this assignment.
Qn: Can I use the internet to generate my own sources and arguments? Ans: This assignment has been designed to ensure that you engage with the relevant academic literature. It is expected that the readings you have been supplied with will constitute the main (or total) sources for your essay. If you choose to use additional information derived from the internet you must critically reflect on the legitimacy of this source.
Qn: Can I use tables/charts/maps/diagrams from the readings in my essay? Ans: Yes. But you must ensure that any table (etc.) that you include in your essay is appropriately referenced and that you comment on the implications of the table (etc.) in your essay.
Qn: Can you read a draft and tell me if I’m on the right track? Ans: No, there are simply too many students to run a draft submission phase. But, you are welcome to - very briefly - discuss your work with me in regular office hours. I will not provide any indication of grades or corrective feedback.
Qn: How do I appropriately identify direct quotes or the source of my arguments and avoid plagiarism? It is essential to identify the sources of all direct quotes and the source of arguments that you are commenting upon. Failure to identify your sources can result in plagiarism which is a serious offence (see below for more information).
Here is an extract from Meen et.al (2016, p 263):
The move to phase out mortgage tax relief reflected its heavy budgetary burden, but it had also been regularly criticised on the grounds that it contributed to the economic distortions that were widespread across housing since the structure of subsidies was far from tenure-neutral. An important strand of the housing literature in the late 1970s and 1980s concentrated on the interaction between high rates of inflation in this era with a tax system that conferred benefits to owner occupation, which other forms of investment did not enjoy
Note that it is your argument that a reader is interested in, not someone else’s argument (otherwise why read your work?), thus good practice is to keep direct quotation to a minimum and only use it when absolutely necessary. Appropriate citing of the literature If I want to use the above paragraph I could provide:
A Direct Quote: Direct quotations of 4 lines (or more) require indentation as above. Shorter quotations require that the text that you are quoting be placed within quotation marks, and the author’s name, date of publication and page number needs to be given as follows, “the move to phase out mortgage tax relief reflected its heavy budgetary burden” (Meen et al. 2016, p 263).
Refer to the ideas: If I am picking up on an idea/argument from a reading but not quoting the text I must source the author and date: Mortgage tax relief in the UK was not only an expensive use of public funds, its structure also contributed to economic distortions in housing markets that was biased towards homeownership (Meen et al. 2016). The UK experience is particularly interesting …
Inappropriate citation includes the use of unattributed direct quotes, even if they are not word-for-word. This is when you copy text from a source but do not identify the source
Example: In the UK, the move to phase out mortgage tax relief reflected its heavy budgetary burden, but it had also been frequently criticised on the grounds that it contributed to the economic distortions that were widespread across housing since the structure of tax relief was far from tenure-neutral. An important discussion in the housing literature in the late 1970s and 1980s focused on the interaction between high inflation rates with a tax system that conferred benefits to owner occupation. Other forms of investment did not enjoy these benefits hence housing policy should not support the use of the tax system to promote homeownership.
PART 5- APPROPRIATE REFERENCING STYLES
There are a number of referencing systems employed in academia. The UoA Business School recommends the use of the APA Referencing Style. You can find information on how to cite references at the following UoA Library website, called “Referncite”: https://www.cite.auckland.ac.nz/index.html I have uploaded to Canvas the University of Auckland’s Centre for Academic Learning- Student Learning booklet on how to use the APA system. Please ensure that you make use of this booklet in your assignment.