Corporatism and Housing Regimes
According to Torgersen (1978), education, health care, social security and housing are the four pillars of the welfare state. However, he describes housing as the “wobbly pillar under the welfare state” because to a far greater degree than education, health care and social security, housing is a market product. When examining welfare, the equivocal position of housing between state and market leads welfare researchers to focus on one or more of the other pillars (Torgersen, 1987, p 117; Wilensky, 1975, pp. 7–9). Because housing straddles both state and market, it is probable that vested market interests are more prominent in housing than in other welfare sectors. For this reason the housing market is likely to reflect the power balance between different interest groups particularly clearly, especially in comparison with other important welfare sectors where the market still plays a much more limited role. The market dependency of housing therefore makes it especially interesting for the study of power in ...