The Spatial Implications of Housing Policy in Chile by

previous draft of this paper. We would also like to thank Francisca Morales and Raj Shourie for expert research assistance. A special thanks goes to Ana Maria Pavez for her excellent research, comments and guidance. The findings and conclusions of this research are solely the responsibility of the authors. Cummings and DiPasquale City Research 1997 Page 1 In many countries throughout the world, housing and land markets are significantly influenced by government policy. Chile has a long history of government involvement in housing policy, having passed its first housing law in 1906, and today there continues to be extensive intervention in the housing market by the national government. While virtually all residential construction is done by the private sector, in the 1980s and early 1990s, over 40 % of residential construction had direct public subsidy. If mortgage subsidies and housing vouchers1 are considered as well, the government is involved in a much larger portion of the housing market. Government intervention in housing and land markets can have profoun