Housing, the welfare state and poverty: On the financialization of housing and the dependent variable problem

Abstract

The comparative study of housing systems enjoys a “disjointed” relationship with comparative literature on the welfare state and poverty, a separation which has been to the detriment of each of these fields. Such are its implications for the income distribution that the concept of “financializaton” developed in housing studies provides potentially rich raw material for welfare state and poverty literature. However, there are also limitations in the way in which “financializaton” has been operationalized in housing studies: definitions are often inconsistent, and it has proven challenging to identify indicators that measure convincingly the multiple dimensions of financialization. We argue that greater consideration of the “dependent variable problem”, extensively discussed in the welfare state literature, but generally neglected in housing studies, can advance understanding of housing market financialization and its effects. A greater integration of scholarship on the welfare state, housing studies and poverty would be to mutual benefit.