Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name:  Alda Botelho Azevedo
Author-Name-First: Alda
Author-Name-Last: Botelho Azevedo
Author-Email: acazevedo@edu.ulisboa.pt
Author-Workplace-Name: Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade de Lisboa
Author-Name:  Inês Gonçalves
Author-Name-First: Inês 
Author-Name-Last: Gonçalves
Author-Email: ines.goncalves@novasbe.pt
Author-Workplace-Name: Nova School of Business and Economics, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa
Author-Name:  João Pereira dos Santos
Author-Name-First: João 
Author-Name-Last: Pereira dos Santos
Author-Email: joao.santos@iseg.ulisboa.pt
Author-Workplace-Name: Queen Mary University of London, ISEG – University of Lisbon, and IZA
Title: Can’t Buy Me Home – Beliefs, Facts, and Policy in the Housing Affordability Crisis 
Abstract: Our study investigates public opinion on the housing affordability crisis in Portugal through a nationally representative survey combined with an information provision experiment. Participants were asked to identify perceived causes of rising housing prices, assess their factual knowledge of the housing market and sociodemographic trends, and indicate their preferred policy solutions, carefully framed to reflect trade-offs. Half of the respondents were randomly assigned to receive official statistical information on these trends before indicating their policy preferences. The findings reveal significant heterogeneity in beliefs about the causes of the crisis, pervasive misperceptions regarding market trends, and a limited impact of information provision on policy preferences. These results underscore the challenges of addressing housing policy through informational interventions alone and highlight the need for strategies that integrate behavioral and contextual factors to foster informed public engagement.
Creation-Date:  2025-06
Revision-Date: 2025-06
Publication-Status: published 
File-URL: https://www.gee.gov.pt//RePEc/WorkingPapers/GEE_PAPERS_191.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf
File-Function: First version, 2025
Number: 191
Classification-JEL: R31, F60, J18
Keywords: Real estate prices; Information-provision experiment; Population; Tourism; Portugal
Handle: RePEc:mde:wpaper:191