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A reverse form of welfarism: some reflections on Australian housing policy
Citation
Jacobs, K, A reverse form of welfarism: some reflections on Australian housing policy, Australian Journal of Social Issues, 50, (1) pp. 53-68. ISSN 0157-6321 (2015) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2014 Australian Social Policy Association
Official URL: http://www.aspa.org.au/publications/ajsi.html
DOI: doi:10.1002/j.1839-4655.2015.tb00334.x
Abstract
In this paper I argue that we have been amiss in diagnosing the role played
by government, which has exacerbated the housing problems afflicting
low-income households in Australia. However, I argue further we have placed
too much faith in the capacity of managerial interventions to ameliorate
what are far more deep-rooted and systemic challenges. It is suggested
that researchers need to adopt a more critical account of the conduct of
contemporary government policy making, one that casts aside a view of the
State as a benevolent agency whose primary objective is to ameliorate the
conditions of the disadvantaged. Instead, the State should be understood
as an agency that sustains the conditions necessary for the finance industry,
developers and real estate agents, along with well-off householders and
landlords, to reap profits. The political economy of Australian housing, in its
current incarnation, performs a form of reverse welfarism that exacerbates
social inequality.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
---|---|
Keywords: | public housing, Australia, policy process, housing research |
Research Division: | Human Society |
Research Group: | Sociology |
Research Field: | Urban sociology and community studies |
Objective Division: | Law, Politics and Community Services |
Objective Group: | Community services |
Objective Field: | Structure, delivery and resourcing |
UTAS Author: | Jacobs, K (Professor Keith Jacobs) |
ID Code: | 99964 |
Year Published: | 2015 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 23 |
Deposited By: | School of Social Sciences |
Deposited On: | 2015-04-21 |
Last Modified: | 2016-03-18 |
Downloads: | 3 View Download Statistics |
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