Living on a plot of land as a tenure choice: The case of Panama

In this paper, we use analyze data from a survey of over thirteen hundred household housing-tenures in Panama. Our objective is to identify the features which determine whether households in a developing country such as Panama choose to rent or to buy housing properties, or alternatively to seek somewhat alternative tenure arrangements. In particular, we investigate the common characteristic of Panamanian households undertaking plot purchases with a view to future building. In order to analyze these alternative tenure arrangements we develop a series of log-linear models, in which dichotomous rent-versus-buy models are extended to include the possibility of plot purchasing with a view to future building. The extended models including plot purchases are seen to be superior to the dichotomous rent-versus-buy model in identifying which household characteristics are associated with particular housing-tenure decisions.