Measuring and Explaining the Limited Take-up of the Housing Benefit in the Netherlands

It is well known that the take-up rate of the Dutch housing benefit and othermeans tested benefits is substantially below 100%. In order to measure non-take up oneusually has to simulate entitlement to the benefits. In this paper we take a closer look atthe quality of the simulation. We find evidence that simulation error is much moreimportant than has often been assumed in earlier studies. These studies use the simulationof entitlement in order to select the sample on which an explanatory model for the take-updecision is based. Simulation error may therefore lead to biases in the explanatorya... Mehr ...