The McMansion effect: Positional externalities in US suburbs

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bellet, Clement S.
• 署名单位: Erasmus University Rotterdam - Excl Erasmus MC; Erasmus University Rotterdam
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0047-2727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2024.105174
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: Positional goods; relative consumption; Subjective wellbeing; housing; INEQUALITY

摘要

This paper examines how the construction of very large homes - or McMansions - in U.S. suburbs affects homeowners' satisfaction and housing behavior. Combining three decades of survey data with geolocated information on three million suburban houses, I find that homeowners exposed to newly constructed, large houses report lower satisfaction with their own homes, while their neighborhood satisfaction remains unaffected. This effect is contingent on the visual salience of McMansions, as indicated by their proximity to roads. Homeowners exposed to new-built McMansions are more likely to expand their own homes and take on more debt.