Home Ownership and Social Inequality in Comparative Perspective

Although a strong indicator of social status, home ownership has rarely emerged as a topic in social inequality research. This book compares twelve countries - the United States, Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Israel - to determine the interdependence of social inequality and homeownership attainment over the life course. Examining countries that are similar with respect to socio-economic development, but different in regard to their housing policies, the authors show that housing policies matter and are largely consistent with a country’s general approach in the provision of welfare. This book presents a valuable contribution to the social stratification literature, which traditionally has neglected the dimension of home ownership. It goes beyond most housing studies by adopting a life course framework and longitudinal approach. The empirical findings provide evidence that in all countries under study - even those of the social democratic welfare regime type - labor market position matters in one’s chances to become a homeowner.