Poster #69 - Debt, Homeownership, and Youth Policy Preferences: Evidence from Seoul’s Subnational Policy Laboratory

• In Event: Friday Poster Reception

Abstract

This study investigates the influence of debt-to-asset ratios and housing tenure on youth policy preferences in Seoul, the capital and primary subnational government of South Korea. This research frames Seoul as a pioneering institutional innovator within South Korea’s centralized governance, mirroring American "laboratories of democracy." The goal is to bridge the gap between provider-oriented institutional frameworks and the structural economic precariousness of a generation defined by asset-based inequality. By analyzing the interplay between financial liabilities and the demand for asset-supportive policies, this study provides an empirical foundation for subnational policy innovation in an era of fiscal austerity.
Motivated by the tension between ideological path-dependency, which prioritizes traditional employment-centered welfare, and the actual material needs for housing and financial stability among contemporary youth, the study examines how the interaction of debt and housing tenure shapes the demand for targeted state interventions. These include rent subsidies, public housing for youth, and subsidized savings accounts. The analysis explores how financial vulnerability translates into specific preferences for asset-accumulation programs, addressing whether the perceived need for support is driven by rational responses to economic precariousness. By focusing on these mechanisms, the study clarifies how subnational actors must recalibrate policy architectures to reflect the lived economic realities of their citizens.
Drawing on second-year data from the Seoul Young Adult Panel Survey, the analysis employs a moderation model to test these dynamics across the total youth cohort and subgroups in their 20s and 30s. The dependent variable aggregates intentions to utilize five key housing and asset-formation policies. Empirical results reveal that the debt-to-asset ratio is a robust predictor of policy preferences across all demographics, linking heightened debt to stronger assistance demands. Furthermore, moderation analysis identifies a significant interaction effect for the total cohort and the 20s subgroup, where the positive relationship between debt and policy preference is significantly amplified among non-homeowners. However, this interaction vanishes in the 30s subgroup, suggesting a complex heterogeneity within the youth generation based on different life-course stages of asset accumulation.
Findings underscore assets as a pivotal variable in shaping welfare attitudes, explaining previous inconsistencies in youth political behavior. By identifying debt as a unified catalyst for policy demand while highlighting the moderating role of housing tenure, this study suggests that asset-based metrics offer a more precise map of economic precariousness than traditional class-based indicators. As a leading subnational laboratory, Seoul’s experience demonstrates how capturing bottom-up, asset-driven demands can challenge ideological path-dependency and inform more responsive policy designs. Ultimately, these results offer a framework for U.S. state-level policymakers to recalibrate welfare architectures to better reflect the structural insecurities and heterogeneous needs of youth in the global asset economy.

Author

• Jiwon Kim, Chung-Ang University, Precarious Work & Social Policy Research Lab
  Presenting Author