Housing Rent Dynamics and Rent Regulation in St. Petersburg (1880–1917)

Konstantin Kholodilin
DIW Berlin & Leontief Centre

Leonid E. Limonov
National Research University – Higher School of Economics & Leontief Centre

Sofie R. Waltl
Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research & Vienna University of Economics and Business

Abstract

This article studies housing rents in St. Petersburg from 1880 through 1917, covering an eventful period of Russian and world history. Digitizing over 5,000 rental advertisements, we construct a state-of-the-art index – the first pre-war and pre-Soviet market data index for any Russian city. In 1915, a rent control and tenant protection policy was introduced in response to soaring prices following the outbreak of WWI. We document official compliance, rising tenure duration, and strongly increased affordability for workers. While the immediate prelude to the October Revolution was indeed characterized by economic turmoil, rent affordability did not dominate.

Dissemination

Kholodilin, K. A., Limonov, L. E., and Waltl, S. R. (2021). Housing Rent Dynamics and Rent Regulation in St. Petersburg (1880–1917). Explorations in Economic History, 81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2021.101398

Data Appendix: Kholodilin, K. A., Limonov, L. E., and Waltl, S. R. (2021). Data Appendix: Housing Rent Dynamics and Rent Regulation in St. Petersburg (1880–1917). Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-03-04. https://doi.org/10.3886/E134121V3.

Presentations: [LISER, May 2018] [XVIII World Economic History Congress, MIT, Cambridge, USA, August 2018] [WU Research Seminar in Economic, Social and Business History, Vienna, November 2018]