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Title: The institutional structure of housing and the sub-prime crisis: an Australian case study
Author(s): Burke, Terry; Hulse, Kath
Abstract: The 2008 financial and economic crisis has made it increasingly evident that the institutional context in which markets operate can greatly shape their structure and performance. As of June 2009 the Australian housing market was showing few signs that it was following the downward spiral that has characterised those of other developed societies or of making a market adjustment to what many have called a structural affordability problem. This paper uses an institutional framework, i.e. the dominant set of norms and values in a society and the set of concrete or formalised organisations and practices that shape economic and social behaviour, to identify the distinctive attributes of the Australian housing system and explain its recent market performance. While the Australian economy and society have changed markedly in recent decades, the housing system---the way in which housing is produced, consumed, exchanged and managed---has not adapted to these changes at the same pace or in an appropriate way. Institutional path dependency has meant that the challenges raised by lack of affordability, supply and diversity have largely gone unaddressed, but with the paradox that it has saved us from the market downturns of other societies. In every cloud there is a silver lining.
Publication Type: Conference paper
Research Centre: Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Life and Social Sciences. Institute for Social Research
Source: Paper presented at the 2009 Housing Researchers Conference, incorporating the Asia Pacific Network of Housing Research (APNHR) Conference and the Australasian Housing Researchers Conference (AHRC), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 05-07 August 2009
Publication Year: 2009
FOR Code(s): 120501 Community Planning; 120503 Housing Markets, Development, Management; 160702 Counselling, Welfare and Community Services
Keyword(s): Australia; Government policy; Housing affordability; Housing market; Institutional path dependency
Publisher: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
Publisher URL: http://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au/cf/apnhr/conferenceinfo/
Peer Reviewed