An Analysis of Housing Policy Measures Aimed at Supporting Labour Flexibility in the Czech Republic

The potential housing-policy instruments that could be used to encourage Czech citizens to move for job opportunities - conclusions

Given that the effect of public incentives is not that clear, it would be better to employ demand-side subsidies to encourage migration for work, and to adopt those forms of support that are less demanding on the public budgets and are more widely supported by the public - e.g. try to make mortgage refinancing easier, increase the amount of information available to the unemployed about housing in potential job locations, and perhaps even provide them with short-term loans and limited allowances to make it easier to re-locate for employment. However, support in the form of low-interest loans for acquiring owner-occupied housing should be limited, despite the fact that it meets the above criteria, because owner-occupied housing, especially family home ownership, often ultimately hinders job migration; the undesirable effect of the existing "newlywed loans" became apparent even in the focus groups of the unemployed in Opava.