Foreword

This report brings together two strands of work at the OECD: inequality and inclusive growth, on the one hand, and housing policies on the other.

Over the past three decades, the OECD has documented trends in inequality, examined its drivers, and assessed the effectiveness of a range of policies to tackle poverty and promote more inclusive growth. In so doing, the OECD has put inequality and inclusive growth at the core of international agendas, including the G7 and G20, with publications such as Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising, Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class, and the OECD Framework for Policy Action on Inclusive Growth. This report extends this analysis by focusing on housing and the ways in which it matters for inclusive growth.

At the same time, this report contributes to a broader OECD-wide project on housing. The OECD Housing Project, led by the Economic Policy Committee (EPC), draws on the expertise and contributions from numerous committees, including the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee (ELSAC); the Environment Policy Committee (EPOC); the Regional Development Policy Committee (RDPC); the Committee on Statistics and Statistical Policy (CSSP); and, the Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA), among others. This report supports the development of an integrated housing policy approach and a strategic vision for implementation.

This report was written under the overall supervision of the OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, and the Special Counsellor to the Secretary-General, Gabriela Ramos. It was produced by the Directorate of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, under the leadership of Stefano Scarpetta. Willem Adema supervised the preparation of this report, within the Social Policy Division led by Monika Queisser. Willem Adema and Marissa Plouin drafted the report, and Pauline Fron and Salomé Bakaloglou provided statistical and research assistance. Several aspects of the analysis draw on the analytical work of Horacio Levy on household consumption estimates, prepared for Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class. We gratefully acknowledge the suggestions provided or channelled by delegates of the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee and the Working Party on Social Policy. We would also like to thank colleagues from across the OECD who provided valuable comments throughout the development of the report, including Stefano Scarpetta, Mark Pearson, Monika Queisser, Chris Clarke, Sebastian Könings, Sarah Kups and Valerie Frey from the Directorate of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs; Romina Boarini, Ziga Zarnic and Grainne Dirwan from the Inclusive Growth Unit in the Office of the Secretary-General; Christophe André, Orsetta Causa, Boris Cournède and Peter Hoeller from the Economics Department; Bert Brys, Bethany Millar-Powell and Pierce O’Reilly from the Centre for Tax Policy; Abel Schumann from the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities; and Francette Koechlin and Carlotta Balestra from the Statistics Directorate. Fatima Perez supported the preparation of this report, and Liv Gudmundson prepared it for publication.

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Ford Foundation.