Housing vouchers in the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands: Current issues and future perspectives

We compare the current U.S. housing Voucher program with the British housing benefit and the Dutch housing allowance programs. After presenting the theory behind income-related housing support, which underpins both the U.S. and European systems, we compare the three programs with respect to their scope (the budgeted versus the entitlement approach), the relationship between housing support and rent levels, the poverty trap, moral hazards, and administrative problems. The United States can learn from Great Britain and the Netherlands that a full entitlement program can best promote equity, but given the present political and economic climate, it is unlikely that Congress will adopt such a program anytime soon. Great Britain and the Netherlands can learn from the United States how to design a more efficient tenant subsidy program, one that provides incentives to find less expensive units and promotes family self-sufficiency through enhanced job-seeking behavior.