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1 results

  • 4 - Dignity

  • Tanu Kumar, Claremont Graduate University, California
  • Book:
    Building Social Mobility
    Published online:
    15 September 2025
    Print publication:
    02 October 2025, pp 90-114

  • Summary

    This chapter explores the effects of government-subsidized homeownership on dignity. I develop a two-part definition of dignity as beneficiaries' experienced agency in their own lives and in their relationships with others. This definition builds upon and engages with work in philosophy, history, political science, and international development. I further show how housing shapes individuals' perception of themselves and the future through quotes, causally identified effects, and a measure of dignity based on eye contact. Broadly, beneficiaries seem to be much more able to pursue their own goals and interests and assert themselves in society. I provide evidence for my theoretical mechanisms, which are related to wealth, certainty about the future, and the fact that housing is an important marker of status in society. This chapter highlights the importance of studying dignity in its own right, but it also serves as an important bridge connecting the effects on income and wealth, as explored in Chapter 3, to the effects on political behavior in Chapter 5.