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Who Represents the Renters?

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Katherine Levine Einstein finds that renters are starkly underrepresented by a margin of over 30 percentage points—a gap that persists across a variety of institutional and demographic contexts.

Image courtesy of interviewee. May 1, 2024

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This video video discusses a study focused on the housing crisis in the U.S. and its relationship with political decision-making. The researchers are interested in how the home ownership status of politicians affects their policy choices, particularly in terms of addressing the needs of renters versus homeowners. They highlight that over 80% of politicians at various levels of government are property owners, which creates a disparity in representation, especially in cities where renters comprise the majority. The study emphasizes that understanding politicians' demographic backgrounds might help explain why public policy often favors homeowners. They are exploring when policymakers prioritize renters' interests and the impact of increased renter representation on housing policy. The research involved collecting data on over 10,000 politicians and their property records, which was analyzed to reveal significant disparities in homeownership among elected officials. The authors aim to investigate how these factors influence housing policy in the context of a nationwide housing crisis.

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So the broader context of this study is the housing crisis

00:03.515 --> 00:04.965
that we have in the United States.

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Um, so in a lot of places across the country,

00:08.555 --> 00:12.485
housing has increased, in price exponentially.

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And so one of the sources, of

00:15.555 --> 00:18.485
that increase in housing prices, our policy choices.

00:19.025 --> 00:20.205
And so that led us

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to be really interested in thinking about the incentives

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of the politicians who are making those policy decisions

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and the extent to which,

00:28.625 --> 00:30.285
the housing crisis might be something

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of personal interest to them.

00:32.225 --> 00:36.645
Um, and so we studied essentially which politicians might be

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more vulnerable to the housing crisis,

00:38.725 --> 00:41.165
which ones might be renters as opposed to homeowners.

00:41.305 --> 00:42.445
So I mean, there's a, there's a few

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different literature that we speak to.

00:44.105 --> 00:46.365
Um, the first is really,

00:46.435 --> 00:48.885
focused on the demographic characteristics

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of politicians in general.

00:50.585 --> 00:53.605
Um, and that has been primarily focused on, sort

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of the extent to which, white people

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or men, are overrepresented

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or people from higher income backgrounds.

01:00.945 --> 01:03.165
And those are all obviously really important in thinking

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about our representational system.

01:04.945 --> 01:08.965
Um, but we haven't really had good data on the home

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ownership status of those politicians.

01:11.265 --> 01:13.805
And again, we, we thought understanding those demographic

01:13.805 --> 01:16.085
traits was gonna be really important,

01:16.145 --> 01:18.925
for offering policy insight into the housing crisis.

01:19.305 --> 01:21.285
The other academic literature we obviously speak

01:21.285 --> 01:23.925
to is more generally about, the politics

01:23.925 --> 01:25.445
and economics of the housing crisis,

01:25.825 --> 01:27.645
and really specifically thinking about the way

01:27.645 --> 01:30.605
that politicians and policy making might intersect

01:30.605 --> 01:31.805
with those rising housing prices.

01:32.345 --> 01:36.725
So we collected information on over 10,000 politicians,

01:36.945 --> 01:38.765
at federal, state and local offices.

01:39.425 --> 01:42.885
And then we merged that information on those politicians

01:43.035 --> 01:46.525
with property records, so that we could learn,

01:46.525 --> 01:47.925
whether or not they owned a home,

01:47.985 --> 01:49.365
how valuable that home was.

01:49.905 --> 01:52.925
Um, and yeah, just basically understanding

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how those characteristics could be compared then

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with the general population of the communities

01:58.125 --> 01:59.405
that those individuals represented.

01:59.905 --> 02:01.965
So the big punchline, is

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that we have enormous representational disparities when it

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comes to who owns property.

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Um, so over 80% of politicians at all levels

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of government are property owners.

02:12.345 --> 02:14.365
And I think where the disparities become sort

02:14.365 --> 02:15.885
of the sharpest right,

02:15.945 --> 02:18.245
is when we start looking at our local politicians.

02:18.265 --> 02:19.285
So if we look at mayors

02:19.285 --> 02:20.845
and city counselors, many

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of whom represent majority renter cities,

02:23.685 --> 02:25.525
those individuals are still overwhelmingly,

02:25.525 --> 02:27.245
like over 80% of them are homeowners.

02:27.385 --> 02:29.965
And so that, that's a really big disparity when we think

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about many of those cities being majority renter cities.

02:32.945 --> 02:35.085
Um, and, you know, again, depending upon

02:35.085 --> 02:37.725
how you cut the data, those disparities are actually much

02:37.725 --> 02:39.805
bigger, than some of the other ones

02:39.805 --> 02:41.725
that we really commonly study in political science

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by gender, by race, by income.

02:44.625 --> 02:48.925
So one concern that we might have is that if we think,

02:49.095 --> 02:51.205
being able to solve the housing crisis means really

02:51.205 --> 02:53.445
understanding the plight of renters,

02:53.505 --> 02:55.925
and the precarity that they face in the American housing

02:55.925 --> 02:58.445
market, the concern is that,

02:59.045 --> 03:01.765
American politicians, many of them don't sort of have

03:01.835 --> 03:03.445
that personal experience.

03:03.745 --> 03:05.725
Um, and again, that doesn't necessarily mean

03:05.725 --> 03:07.605
that you can't sort of learn about your constituents

03:07.605 --> 03:09.805
preferences and empathize with those considerations.

03:10.065 --> 03:11.925
But we do have some evidence to suggest, right,

03:11.925 --> 03:14.445
that your personal characteristics may shape the policies

03:14.445 --> 03:15.925
that you think are most important.

03:16.505 --> 03:19.565
Um, and it suggests that our politicians

03:19.665 --> 03:21.725
and their demographic backgrounds may help us

03:21.725 --> 03:24.645
to understand why American public policy is

03:24.665 --> 03:27.125
so oriented towards the interests of homeowners,

03:27.375 --> 03:29.445
often at the expense of renters.

03:29.905 --> 03:31.685
Um, and when we think about sort of where,

03:31.685 --> 03:34.445
where we wanna go next with this kind of research,

03:34.625 --> 03:37.925
you know, we're really interested in understanding,

03:38.385 --> 03:41.005
you know, when policymakers might make decisions

03:41.005 --> 03:43.005
that prioritize the interests of renters.

03:43.005 --> 03:45.805
So there's been a lot of really interesting housing policy

03:46.165 --> 03:47.485
movement actually primarily at the state

03:47.505 --> 03:50.005
and local level in the United States,

03:50.005 --> 03:52.845
that has actually moved to produce more housing

03:53.105 --> 03:54.765
and to reduce housing prices.

03:55.345 --> 03:58.445
And so we're really interested in this context where we know

03:58.445 --> 04:00.365
that most politicians are homeowners.

04:00.715 --> 04:04.485
When do politicians pursue more pro housing policies,

04:04.675 --> 04:06.525
that favor the interests of renters?

04:06.705 --> 04:09.365
Um, and does it involve renters being better represented

04:09.365 --> 04:11.325
descriptively in public policy?

04:11.915 --> 04:15.045
Yeah, I mean, so we, we did regression analysis, right?

04:15.045 --> 04:17.165
So it's sort of, typical quantitative analysis

04:17.165 --> 04:18.405
where we did sort of just basic

04:18.435 --> 04:20.085
descriptive information, right?

04:20.085 --> 04:23.245
First of all, just looking overall at the numbers of,

04:23.245 --> 04:25.285
politicians who are renters and homeowners.

04:25.585 --> 04:27.845
Um, and then we compared it, right

04:27.845 --> 04:29.205
to the demographics of those cities.

04:29.265 --> 04:32.205
So that was a mix of some basic cross tabulations as well

04:32.205 --> 04:33.325
as regression analyses.

00:00 - So the broader context of this study is the housing crisis that we have in the United States. so in a lot of places across the country, housing has increased, in price exponentially. And so one of the sources, of that increase in housing prices, our policy choices.

00:19 - And so that led us to be really interested in thinking about the incentives of the politicians who are making those policy decisions and the extent to which, the housing crisis might be something of personal interest to them. and so we studied essentially which politicians might be more vulnerable to the housing crisis, which ones might be renters as opposed to homeowners. So I mean, there's a, there's a few

00:42 - different literature that we speak to. the first is really, focused on the demographic characteristics of politicians in general. and that has been primarily focused on, sort of the extent to which, white people or men, are overrepresented or people from higher income backgrounds. And those are all obviously really important in thinking about our representational system.

01:04 - but we haven't really had good data on the home ownership status of those politicians. And again, we, we thought understanding those demographic traits was gonna be really important, for offering policy insight into the housing crisis. The other academic literature we obviously speak to is more generally about, the politics and economics of the housing crisis, and really specifically thinking about the way that politicians and policy making might intersect

01:30 - with those rising housing prices. So we collected information on over 10,000 politicians, at federal, state and local offices. And then we merged that information on those politicians with property records, so that we could learn, whether or not they owned a home, how valuable that home was. and yeah, just basically understanding how those characteristics could be compared then with the general population of the communities

01:58 - that those individuals represented. So the big punchline, is that we have enormous representational disparities when it comes to who owns property. so over 80% of politicians at all levels of government are property owners. And I think where the disparities become sort of the sharpest right, is when we start looking at our local politicians. So if we look at mayors

02:19 - and city counselors, many of whom represent majority renter cities, those individuals are still overwhelmingly, like over 80% of them are homeowners. And so that, that's a really big disparity when we think about many of those cities being majority renter cities. and, you know, again, depending upon how you cut the data, those disparities are actually much bigger, than some of the other ones that we really commonly study in political science

02:41 - by gender, by race, by income. So one concern that we might have is that if we think, being able to solve the housing crisis means really understanding the plight of renters, and the precarity that they face in the American housing market, the concern is that, American politicians, many of them don't sort of have that personal experience. and again, that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't sort of learn about your constituents

03:07 - preferences and empathize with those considerations. But we do have some evidence to suggest, right, that your personal characteristics may shape the policies that you think are most important. and it suggests that our politicians and their demographic backgrounds may help us to understand why American public policy is so oriented towards the interests of homeowners, often at the expense of renters. and when we think about sort of where,

03:31 - where we wanna go next with this kind of research, you know, we're really interested in understanding, you know, when policymakers might make decisions that prioritize the interests of renters. So there's been a lot of really interesting housing policy movement actually primarily at the state and local level in the United States, that has actually moved to produce more housing and to reduce housing prices. And so we're really interested in this context where we know

03:58 - that most politicians are homeowners. When do politicians pursue more pro housing policies, that favor the interests of renters? and does it involve renters being better represented descriptively in public policy? Yeah, I mean, so we, we did regression analysis, right? So it's sort of, typical quantitative analysis where we did sort of just basic descriptive information, right? First of all, just looking overall at the numbers of,

04:23 - politicians who are renters and homeowners. and then we compared it, right to the demographics of those cities. So that was a mix of some basic cross tabulations as well as regression analyses.

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