Martijn Dröes, Amsterdam Business School: "A World Divided: Refugee Centers, House Prices, and Household Preferences"

Online via Zoom

Using detailed housing transactions data from the Netherlands covering more than two decades, we examine the disamenity effect associated with the opening of refugee centers (RCs). We show that the opening of an RC decreases local house prices by 5.8%. The effect has become stronger in the past decade in line with an increasing share of nationalist votes. Using microdata on home buyers' characteristics we further identify households' preferences. The results show that the willingness to pay is more negative for larger  RCs and more positive for foreign-born individuals. The latter is indicative of a more positive attitude of foreign-born individuals towards refugees.