Long-term under investment in new housing, like long-term under investment in the NHS or the railways, may eventually have serious consequences for the UK which could take decades to remedy, warns a new study undertaken for the Housing Research Foundation. <p></p><p><i>The Economic Role of New Housing</i> is an attempt to address an imbalance in academic research which has traditionally focused on the role of house prices or design, and has ignored the economic effects of house construction. The lack of satisfactory economic models means that it is difficult to assess whether the UK is spending too little on new housing or not. </p><p>The study was carried out for the Housing Research Foundation - the NHBC's independent research arm - between April 2000 and March 2001 by a team of economists from the universities of Reading, Aberdeen and Glasgow. It addresses national, regional and urban issues individually.</p><p> &amp;"A single integrated framework cannot account for the fact that different factors and issues are important at different spatial scales,&amp;" said Geoff Meen of the research team. </p><p>&amp;"For example urban deprivation and key worker issues are important at an urban level, while the 'crowding out' of business investment by new housing investment is a …