Volume 6, Number 3 (Summer) 1971
Healy, Robert G. 1971. "Effects of Improved Housing on Worker Performance." Journal of Human Resources 6(3):297-308.
This study is a theoretical and empirical investigation of the impact of housing improvement on worker productivity, health, and absenteeism. A model is proposed which considers the interaction of housing improvement with other forms of human capital investment. Empirical evidence from a four-year study of the performance of a sample of rehoused factory workers in Mexico is presented. It is found that the method of wage determination and the reaction of workers to a changed set of economic opportunities generated by rehousing have an important impact on the return from investment in improved housing.
The author is on the Research Staff of The Urban Institute, Washington. The research reported here was completed while the author was with the International Housing Productivity Study, Graduate School of Business, University of California, Los Angeles. The study was undertaken as part of the International Housing Productivity Study, with support from the Agency for International Development and the U.S. Public Health Service. The author wishes to express his appreciation to Leland S. Burns, Barry R. Chiswick, Walter Fogel, and Peter Greenston, who commented on portions of the manuscript, and to Robert S. Rocke, M.D., M.P.H., who classified the diagnostic information. The author, of course, retains responsibility for any errors. Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of The Urban Institute, with which he is now affiliated, or its sponsors.
© 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
US ISSN 0022-166X