Affiliations: [a] Statistics Portugal (INE), National Accounts Department, Lisboa, Portugal | [b] Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisboa, Portugal | [c] BRU - IUL (Business Research Unit), ISCTE Business School Economics Department, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), Lisboa, Portugal
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Cristina Fernandes, Statistics Portugal, National Accounts Department, Consumer Prices Statistics Sector, Avenida António José de Almeida 5, 1000-043 Lisboa, Portugal. Tel.: +351 218440432; E-mail:cristina.fernandes@ine.pt
Abstract: With data for Portugal we propose an index of housing comfort based on the
Household Budget Survey. This index covers housing and durable goods grouped
in two dimensions: basic comfort and complementary comfort. Taking this
index as starting point we make two contributions. First we quantify the
phenomena of poverty, richness, and inequality in housing comfort. Second,
using an ordered probit model, we evaluate the determinants of housing
comfort in Portugal. The results show significant rates of poverty
(12.41%) and richness (22.03%). The evidence sustains that the
differences between households derive mainly from complementary comfort and
to a lesser extent from basic comfort items. Inequality in housing comfort,
measured by the Gini coefficient, stands at 0.1263. The econometric study
reveals that the region of residence of the household and the educational
level and labor market state of the household reference person are among the
most critical determinant factors of housing comfort.
