Economic growth and housing spending within social protection: Correlation and causal study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to ground the causality, its character, and power between economic growth and housing spending within government social protection to strengthen poverty reduction. The study is conducted on a sample of 27 EU countries for 2012–2021 according to the following indicators: government expenditure on housing within social protection, government expenditure on housing development, and GDP per capita growth. Correlation analysis revealed the relationship between the variables. The paper employed time lags with the most significance based on Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients depending on normal data (Shapiro-Wilk test). The causal analysis determined which of the studied indicators is the cause and consequence of established dependence based on the results of the Granger test. Calculations are made in STATA software. It is confirmed that government expenditure on housing within social protection influences GDP per capita growth in 14 countries (the highest impact is in Greece and Spain) and government expenditure on housing development – in 17 countries (the biggest influence is in Romania, the Slovak Republic, Ireland, and Lithuania). It is also emphasized that government expenditure on housing development influences economic growth more significantly and with higher strength than government expenditure on housing within social protection. The obtained results can be useful in further research and government decision-making in social and economic policy, particularly regarding the expediency of increasing government spending for affordable housing and its development according to social protection programs, poverty reduction, and inclusive economic growth. Acknowledgments The study is funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (No. 0122U000781) and the Vega Agency (No. 1/0638/23).