| Abstract: |
The inadequacy of housing and its effect on the quality of lifego a long way toward explaining many aspects of Russian life,but little data has been available to determine how housingaffected the relative well-being of the citizenry. This paperpresents comprehensive data examining for the first time theeffect that seventy years of a socialist housing allocationscheme had on the distribution of income. It seems clear thathousing provided by the government or by employers has a valuethat can be measured to yield useful inferences about the distributionof income and wealth. This article shows that housing allocation had a progressiveeffect on the distribution of income in Russia. In addition,when the imputed value of housing is added to household income,the increase in income inequality that occurred in recent yearsis significantly reduced. The analysis concludes with a discussionof how housing policy could be used to address poverty concerns,an important aspect of the transition process. |
