BEFORE AND AFTER DEREGULATION - MARKET RENTING IN GLASGOW AND EDINBURGH

In this paper, newspaper adverts are used to investigate the effects o f the deregulation of private renting in the UK. The paper contrasts n ewspaper adverts in 1988 (before deregulation took force) with 1992 fo r the market furnished sectors of Glasgow and Edinburgh. The methodolo gical issues of using such data are discussed, as well as the partial nature of such an analysis. It turns out that there is some limited ev idence of more competitive market conditions and an expansion of suppl y can be inferred in Glasgow. OLS rental regressions implied significa nt changes in the implicit prices of the determinants of marginal rent s in both cities. The paper concludes on a note of caution emerging fr om the absence of a sustainable supply subsidy to encourage the furthe r development of commercial rental housing.