Building to resist the effect of wind, v. 4 : forecasting the economics of housing needs, a methodological guide

DETERMINING THOSE NEEDS IS AN IMPORTANT FIRST STEP TO PLANNING AND ENACTING PUBLIC POLICIES AND PROGRAMS FOR IMPROVING HOUSING IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY. THE METHODOLOGY INCLUDES PROCEDURES FOR COMPARING THE COSTS OF MEETING HOUSING NEEDS TO THE POTENTIAL REDISTRIBUTIVE IMPACTS OF THE NEW HOUSING. THE METHODOLOGY HAS BEEN DESIGNED TO BE FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTABLE TO SITUATIONS IN WHICH DATA ON HOUSING AND DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS MAY BE SPARSE. INCLUDED IN THIS VOLUME ARE RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING FURTHER NEEDED RESEARCH. AMONG THOSE: MUCH WORK COULD BE DONE ON DEVELOPING AND ESTIMATING REGIONAL MODELS OF HOUSING DEMAND AND SUPPLY. HOUSING NEEDS STUDIES COULD BE MADE CONSIDERABLY MORE ACCURATE AND RELIABLE IF ESTIMATES OF PRICE ELASTICITIES OF DEMAND AND SUPPLY EXISTED AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL. FURTHERMORE, RESEARCH IS NEEDED ON THE MARKET PROCESS IN SQUATTER SETTLEMENTS. FINALLY, SPECIFIC EMPIRICAL RESEARCH NEEDS TO BE CONDUCTED ON THE IMPACT OF NEW DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION METHODS ON THE HOUSING MARKET. THE RESULTS WOULD PERMIT GOVERNMENTS OF COUNTRIES AFFECTED BY HIGH WINDS TO BE MORE FULLY APPRISED OF THE BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING SUCH A NEW TECHNOLOGY.