Informal Housing in the United States

Research on informal housing tends to focus overwhelmingly on less developed countries, downplaying or ignoring entirely the presence of informality in United States housing markets. In actuality, a longstanding and widespread tradition of informal housing exists in the United States but is typically disregarded by scholars. In this article we draw on three definitions of informality—as non‐compliant, non‐enforced, or deregulated economic activity—to characterize examples of informality in US housing markets, focusing in particular on five institutions that govern housing market activity in this country: property rights law, property transfer law, land‐use and zoning, subdivision regulations, and building codes. The cases presented here challenge the notion that informality is absent from US housing markets and highlight the unique nature of informal housing, US style—namely, that informal housing in the US is geographically uneven, largely hidden and typically interwoven within formal markets. We conclude with a discussion of how research on informal housing in the US can inform research in the global South.     

美国以创新性区划促进可支付住宅发展的经验和启示

为满足中低收入家庭的居住需求,美国旨在推动可支付住宅建设的创新性区划得到了快速发展.创新性区划包括弹性区划、奖励性区划和包容性区划等多种形式,创新性区划的实施使美国地方政府在不扩大地方财政支出的前提下,有效增加面向中低收入家庭的可支付住宅的供给,缓解社会中存在的居住隔离状况.本文介绍了创新性区划的发展历程和实践情况,并分析了其所具有的积极作用以及面临的挑战.     

Lessons from the History of Affordable Housing Cooperatives in the United States: A Case Study in American Affordable Housing Policy

Understanding the history of the affordable housing cooperatives in the United States helps us understand the general history of American affordable housing policy. This paper contains a decade-by-decade summary of the history of affordable cooperatives. The affordable cooperative movement has evolved from ethnic and union groups which developed self-help cooperatives in the 1920s, through the federal funding of low-income cooperatives in the 1960s and 70s, to local nonprofit organizations using ad hoc packages of funds to organize cooperatives during the 1980s and 90s. As this history unfolds, it provides answers to contemporary policy questions affecting both cooperatives and affordable housing in general.     

在美国吃快餐

每天的午餐是美国人一日三餐中食品最简单、食量最少、最好对付的一餐,通常都是吃快餐.到了中午,美国的大街小巷上食客众多热闹异常.有一边看书报一边吃、一边听着音乐手舞足蹈一边吃的,有坐在车里吃、站在路边吃、蹲在树下吃的,甚至走在路上吃、连跑带吃的也随处可见.美国人追求效率效果,讲究省时省力,注重方便实惠,正是这一特点,使得作为美国餐饮文化特征的快餐渗透到美国社会的各个角落.     

United States

Despite a slight downgrade to GDP growth in Q1 and much slower growth expected in Q2 (reflecting the sequester and higher taxes) the recovery appears set to accelerate in the second half of the year. There are encouraging signs that private demand is picking up, with employment growth, consumer confidence and the housing market continuing to strengthen. This will push GDP growth to over 3% by the end of the year and to an average of 2.9% in 2014. The key factors strengthening growth in the face of tigher fiscal policy are: Improving household finances – Consumer spending is being bolstered by wealth effects from strong equity and house prices. Real wages are showing healthy growth again and, combined with rising employment, are helping to mitigate the impact of higher taxes on household disposable income. Moreover, with debt ratios at their lowest levels since 2004, it looks like deleveraging by households is ending. A stronger housing market – housing starts were up 6.8% in May to a level nearly 30% up on a year earlier. We expect residential investment to increase over 13% in 2013 and a further 9% in 2014 despite recent increases in mortgage rates. Increased home sales will also boost spending on furniture and appliances, which are often bought when people move home. Competitive manufacturing sector – US unit labor costs are the most competitive in over 30 years, and many firms are also benefiting from relatively low natural gas prices. This is supporting exports in the face of subdued world demand, although the trade deficit has deteriorated as stronger domestic demand has lifted imports. Improved competitiveness is also encouraging higher investment, which is back to pre‐recession levels…     

United States

Real GDP grew at a slower 2.2% annualized pace in Q4 2018, marking a substantial slowdown from 4.2% in Q2 and 3.4% in Q3. While consumer spending cooled to 2.5% growth, business investment picked up to 5.4% and residential investment remained depressed with a 3.5% contraction in Q4. Net trade exerted a 0.1 ppt drag on growth in Q4, offsetting the contribution from inventories.     

United States

Real GDP growth for the second quarter was revised up to an annualized rate of 4.6%, from a second estimate of 4.2%, as final sales advanced 3.2% and inventories contributed 1.4 percentage points to growth. Business investment stole the limelight with a 9.7% advance, while consumer outlays contributed 1.8 percentage points to growth. Newly available data for Q2 also led to an upward revision of residential investment, and a stronger net trade contribution. We expect the economy to grow by just over 3% in Q3, with the economy expanding 2.2% in 2014 as a whole and 3.1% in 2015…     

United States

Real GDP rose by 2.1% on an annualised basis in Q4 2016, with consumer spending up 3.5% and inventories contributing 1.0pp to growth. Despite solid “soft” data in Q1 2017, we see GDP growth slowing to less than 1.0% as back‐to‐back monthly declines in real consumer outlays constrain activity. Business investment and trade flows are firming only gradually, while rising inflation is taking a greater bite out of real income and spending.     

United States

Real GDP grew by 3.2% on an annualized basis in Q3, with final sales advancing a more modest 2.4% and inventories contributing a solid 0.8pp. Overall, the data was indicative of a 2–2.5% underlying pace of growth. We estimate Q4 growth of around 3.2% annualized, meaning the economy grew by 2.3% in 2017 as a whole.     

United States

Annualized real GDP growth was revised up to 1.4% in Q2, faster than the 0.8% in Q1 but still constrained by headwinds from weak business investment and net trade and a large inventory run‐down. We believe that economic activity accelerated in Q3, with GDP growth around 2.5%, but momentum remains modest.     

United States

The 31.4% annualised real GDP contraction in Q2 remains the worst on record, reflecting the severity of the damage inflicted by the Global Coronavirus Recession.