ESTIMATING WILLINGNESS-TO-PAY FOR HOUSING ATTRIBUTES - AN APPLICATION TO CAIRO AND MANILA

This paper obtains willingness-to-pay estimates for housing characteristics in two cities of the Third World. The analysis estimates housing demand, using household bid-rent functions and, following Wheaton (Journal of Urban Economics, 1977, 4, 200-217), obtains marginal willingness-to-pay approximations for specific housing attributes for different tenure groups and household types. These estimates can be used to design housing programs which provide better and more appropriate types of shelter to different types of households in Cairo and Manila. In addition, the empirical findings generally support current thinking regarding housing policies in developing countries. In particular, low-income households appear to place a great deal of value on locations which are close to their place of employment or the CBD, have access to a regular source of potable water, and are close to public transportation.