Neoliberalism & the marketisation of social housing: a study of four countries

The rise of Neoliberalism since the late twentieth century as the dominant global political and economic ideology has impacted on the social housing sectors in different countries. This ideology has introduced market forces to the provision of social housing which has historically been associated with service provision to fulfil a societal need. This paper looks at the experiences of four countries to understand the impact that marketisation has had on the social housing sector within those countries. The countries chosen have got a number of shared historical commonalities although each has evolved within their own context. The countries looked at are: the Netherlands, United States of America (USA), Australia and United Kingdom. It concludes that the impact of marketisation on the social housing sector has been a reduction in the role of the state although this has to be seen within the specific context of each country.