This paper attempts to measure the effects of U.K. government intervention in the housing market on mobility and unempl oyment. Incentives to move from areas of high to those of low unemployment are penalized by the interaction of social security, ren t subsidies, and other market distortions,...

In a stochastic world there appears to be a trade-off between the necessary 'tying of hands' to conquer the effects of time-inconsistency and the desirability of flexible response. However, it is in principle possible for the electorate to achieve an optimal outcome by use of discriminatory...