Graduation Term

2021

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Sociology and Anthropology: Sociology

Committee Chair

Aaron Pitluck

Committee Member

Marion Willetts

Abstract

This is a study about the relationship in Taiwan between housing provision (homeowner, family-owned, rented, allotted, or other) and quality of life (both financial & residential quality of life), with separate analyses for the average Taiwanese household and for households in the bottom decile of the income distribution. This thesis finds that Taiwanese renters, both in the nationally representative sample and in the bottom decile of household income, are more likely to have a lower financial and residential quality of life compared to those living as homeowners, even after controlling for income, family type, and age of household head. Also, there is an interesting finding that homeowners with mortgages unexpectedly have a higher quality of life than homeowners without mortgages. This shows that there are benefits of improved quality of life from homeownership even when homeowners are paying off their mortgage. Therefore, studying the influences of housing provision is a possible contribution to improving poor families’ well-being. Finally, in order to improve all Taiwanese people’s well-being, this study suggests that the Taiwanese government should introduce policies to reduce the housing prices and create a healthier housing market for both rental and for-sale houses.

Access Type

Thesis-Open Access

DOI

https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2021.20211012065803421970.999983

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