On Deservingness in the Housing Assistance Program: Experimental Study on Determinants of Program Performance and Support

This paper explores the role of social construction in housing assistance programs. Although the topic of social construction has been discussed, few studies have focused on perceptions of social construction at the individual level and with housing assistance programs. To explore alternative policy contexts, this study examines how the characteristics of target groups affect people’s support for housing assistance programs, especially with the aim of providing affordable housing and lowering housing burdens. Using an experimental design, findings indicate that housing benefits are viewed more positively when they focus on groups perceived as highly deserving yet fragmented, contrasting with those serving low-deserving groups. Likewise, results show that the participants display greater willingness to pay for the program supporting fragmented high-deserving groups compared to resourceful high-deserving groups. Among the models, factors including housing assistance support and preexisting assessment on housing service are increasing both perceived policy quality and willingness to pay. Finally, the regression analysis highlights influential factors: for highly deserving groups with collective resources, policy support, perceived quality, and past housing service experiences enhance willingness to pay, whereas fragmented groups are additionally affected based on preexisting perception of the quality.