TY - JOUR

T1 - Housing as Social Right or Means to Wealth?

T2 - The Politics of Property Booms in Australia and Denmark

AU - Mortensen, Jens Ladefoged

AU - Seabrooke, Lenoard

PY - 2008

Y1 - 2008

N2 -  Should housing be considered a social right or a means to wealth? How do property booms change the broader population's political perceptions of residential housing as a commodified asset? To investigate how residential property markets matter for change in the world economy, this paper compares changes to taxation and housing finance regimes in a liberal market for residential property, Australia, and a corporatist market, Denmark. During the last decade, government regulatory changes to taxation and housing finance systems in Australia and Denmark facilitated residential property booms. These reforms, particularly those following financial deregulation, introduced new mortgage instruments and changed economic incentives for selecting residential property as an investment vehicle. The reforms may also be associated with a more general process of transforming taxation and housing finance regimes to favour a conception of housing as a means to wealth rather than as a social right. Political turns to the right in both Australia and Denmark during the creation of their respective property booms aided the framing of residential property as a means to increasing wealth rather than as a social right. This paper traces how changes in taxation and housing finance regulations for residential property were framed within political debates. The paper concludes bv reflecting on the ‘neo-liberalisation' or ‘commodification' of residential property markets in Australia and Denmark, as well as speculating on future developments.

AB -  Should housing be considered a social right or a means to wealth? How do property booms change the broader population's political perceptions of residential housing as a commodified asset? To investigate how residential property markets matter for change in the world economy, this paper compares changes to taxation and housing finance regimes in a liberal market for residential property, Australia, and a corporatist market, Denmark. During the last decade, government regulatory changes to taxation and housing finance systems in Australia and Denmark facilitated residential property booms. These reforms, particularly those following financial deregulation, introduced new mortgage instruments and changed economic incentives for selecting residential property as an investment vehicle. The reforms may also be associated with a more general process of transforming taxation and housing finance regimes to favour a conception of housing as a means to wealth rather than as a social right. Political turns to the right in both Australia and Denmark during the creation of their respective property booms aided the framing of residential property as a means to increasing wealth rather than as a social right. This paper traces how changes in taxation and housing finance regulations for residential property were framed within political debates. The paper concludes bv reflecting on the ‘neo-liberalisation' or ‘commodification' of residential property markets in Australia and Denmark, as well as speculating on future developments.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Boligmarked og boligpolitik

KW - komparative studier

KW - international politisk økonomi

KW - Housing market and housing politcy

KW - Comparetive research

U2 - 10.1057/cep.2008.13

DO - 10.1057/cep.2008.13

M3 - Journal article

VL - 6

SP - 305

EP - 324

JO - Comparative European Politics

JF - Comparative European Politics

SN - 1472-4790

IS - 3

ER -