The housing regime of Sweden: Concurrent challenges - Part A: Aims, effects and interpretations

Abstract

The aims and outcomes of Swedish post-war housing is studied by employing the concept of housing regime, which is considered to be a token of the structure (degree of competition) and scope (extension) of housing markets. The housing markets have emerged and been maintained in a fairly rigorous manner, and they have been attributed to a consistent housing and planning policy. The unswerving policy aims are impressive, but their materialisation remains doubtful. Till now, a majority of the housing stock is deprived of extensive property rights and housing production remains very concentrated. Swedish housing has been strongly ideological, justified by the common tenets of the welfare state and the conception of the home as a right. Originally this provided for a switch to large scale housing, which promoted exclusive and non-rival markets. In this study, the Swedish housing regime is interpreted in the context of bipolar elite strategy. The political left has featured itself as the only true guarantee of housing as a human right, by curbing property rights and by promoting large scale development. Supporting welfare state housing, the political right has de facto promoted the concentration of both production and wealth. Consequently, the putative stability of the Swedish welfare state seem to match the long-term strategies of the bipolar elite.