The impact of North Sea oil development on the Aberdeen housing market

Abstract

Summary The focus of this paper is the influence of North Sea oil development on the owner occupied housing market of Aberdeen sub‐region in the 1970s and the consequent response by private housebuilders. It can also be regarded as the major modern British example of how an ‘exogenous’ economic shock to a region can revolutionize the pattern of housing development. As a prelude to the housing market examination the paper begins with a general discussion of the potential impacts on the housing system followed by a description of the data sources used. Then the nature and scale of economic change in the region, and especially the pattern of oil‐related activity in North East Scotland, and its implications for the labour market and population levels are examined. Much of the evidence presented regarding employment change is derived from material prepared for the North Sea Oil Panel by MacKay and Moir (1980).