Why do tenants leave social housing? Exploring residential and social mobility at the lowest rungs of Australia's socioeconomic ladder

Historically, social housing in Australia operated as a springboard for social mobility. For many working families, public housing tenancy was an opportunity to save for a house purchase deposit. Latterly, tenant exits from public to private housing have declined to very low levels. This has raised concerns about systemic barriers to residential and social mobility for social renters, and about the consequent longer waiting times for applicants in need of social housing. Drawing on administrative data collected by social housing providers in NSW and Victoria, and in‐depth interviews with 95 former and current social housing tenants in both states, this paper examines tenant attitudes, intentions and motivations as regards future house‐moves. We argue that the primary disincentives to exit relate to affordability and security of tenure in private rental, rather than factors related to the social housing system itself.     

Mobilising the welfare machine: Questioning the resurgent socialist concern in China’s Public Rental Housing Scheme

This study examined the resurgence of public housing provision in China since 2007 by situating it in a broad welfare regime analysis. Based on insights from Productivist Welfare Capitalism (Holliday, 2000. Productivist Welfare Capitalism, 706?723) and Graduated Sovereignty (Ong, 2006a. Neoliberalism as exception), we have sought to shed new light on the productivist approach through a study on Chinese cases. Using the examples of Chongqing and Nanjing, we argue in the study that the proactive action of the state to further commodify labour power has led to the flexible de‐articulation and re‐articulation of welfare and citizenship in an ongoing process of de‐territorialisation and re‐territorialisation of various segments of the population that own parcels of land. Another aspect of flexibility in the welfare regime is the double segmentation of population and territory, which is also contingent on, and subject to, alteration upon government decision.     

Do housing regimes matter? Assessing the concept of housing regimes through configurations of housing outcomes

Based on a conceptualisation of de‐commodification as the right to decent and affordable housing, we assessed to what extent this right is realised for low‐to‐moderate‐income owners and renters across Western European housing regimes in 1995 and 2012. If differences in the social production of housing do matter (regardless of type of welfare state and the country's economic affluence), then distinct configurations of housing outcomes should exist. This was found to be indeed the case: More state intervention results in good housing conditions and low housing cost burdens across tenure‐age groups (but particularly for renters), although more so in social‐democratic than in conservative‐corporatist welfare states. A more important role for the family in housing provision is associated with higher subjective housing cost burdens and poor housing conditions. As housing regimes became more commodified between 1995 and 2012, it seems that configurations of housing outcomes have become less associated with the features of housing regimes, and more with type of welfare state and the country's economic affluence.     

The Romantic Realism of Michel Foucault Returning to Kant

Beatrice Han argues that the theories of subjection (determinism: structure) and subjectivation (freedom: agency) are the “the blind spot of Foucault's work:” to the very end of his life, in being transcendental and historical theories, respectively, they were in irresolvable conflict. In part I, I have argued that Foucault encourages us to situate the theories of the subject in an un‐thematized reach for a metaphysics of realism which, in effect, was to ground his uncertain complementary reach for a naturalist conduct of research. In part II I also argue that it is this fundamental feature of Foucault's Foucault that drives his returns to Kant, the purpose of which is to resolve the conflicting theories of the subject, and thus to solve his Giddensian problem of structure and creativity. Locating the returns and their purpose in my context of Science for Humanism and the recovery of human agency, I ultimately argue that Foucault's two special returns to Kant in order to solve his structure/agency problem led to two unfortunate solutions. The resort to Baudelair's aesthetic subject is a failed solution in so far as it regresses to being a pre‐noumenal conception of the subject. The subsequent mere reinstatement of Kant's subject as causally empowered, minus the noumenalism, is nothing more than a reclamation of Kant's conception. Only the reconstruction of Foucault's realism permits us to assert that he could have moved beyond the reclamation of human agency to its recovery.     

The Romantic Realism of Michel Foucault The Scientific Temptation

Beatrice Han has argued that the theories of subjection (determinism: structure) and subjectivation (freedom: agency) are the “the blind spot[s] of Foucault's work.” Furthermore, she continues, as historical and transcendental theories, respectively, Foucault left them in a state of irresolvable conflict. In the Scientific Temptation I have shown that, as a practicing researcher, Foucault encourages us to situate the theories of the subject in the context of his un‐thematized search for a metaphysics of realism, the purpose of which was to ground his complementary reach for a possibility of naturalism. In Returning to Kant I now argue that it is this fundamental feature of “Foucault's Foucault” that drives his returns to Kant, the purpose of which was to resolve the conflicting theories of the subject and thereby solve his Giddensian problem of structure and creativity. Locating the returns and their purpose in the context of my own arguments for the recovery of human agency, I argue that Foucault's attempts to solve his Giddensian problem led to two unfortunate solutions. In the first return, his resort to Baudelaire's aesthetic subject is a regression to a pre‐noumenal conception of the Kantian subject. With the second return, the reinstatement of the Kantian subject as causally empowered, minus the noumenalism, is nothing more than a reclamation of Kant's conception. I argue that only a reconstruction of Foucault's scientific realism permits us to understand that he could have moved beyond mere reclamation to the actual recovery of human agency.     

What Do the Published Figures Tell Us about Homelessness in Australia?

This paper is in two parts. An introductory section discusses the housing market in Australia in order to emphasise the fact that homelessness is not simply an individual experience. It is also a structural phenomenon driven by economic imperatives beyond the control of those most affected. The bulk of the paper is devoted to a discussion of the published figures on the level of homelessness in Australia, gathered by the national Census and by the data collection agency for the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), the nation's main program for combating homelessness. Some problems with those figures as they are reported by the SAAP data collection agency are discussed, in particular, the under‐estimation of the level of unmet demand for accommodation. The paper concludes with a comparison between the Census and the SAAP figures, which indicates that policies for alleviating homelessness are far from achieving their aims.     

Presidential rhetoric,agency turnover,and the importance of salience to bureaucratic leadership

What explains the quit rates of federal agencies? Can presidential rhetoric affect quit rates of federal agencies, particularly those that implement salient policies? Although much research examines other ways presidents may affect the federal bureaucracy, absent is a systematic examination of presidential leadership of agency quit rates, despite the importance of personnel turnover to effective bureaucratic implementation. I argue that presidential rhetoric on the size of government can affect agency turnover. This impact is only likely for agencies that implement salient policies, because salience encourages bureaucratic responsiveness to elected officials. The findings reveal that presidents who speak more favorably about government reduce aggregate turnover in the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Education from 1980 through 2005. I conclude with some observations about what these findings mean for presidential control of the bureaucracy.     

Housing and the Social Exclusion Agenda in England

In the period immediately following its election in 1997 the current Labour government in the UK declared a commitment to ‘combating social exclusion’ to be at the core of the domestic policy agenda. The interpretation of the term ‘social exclusion’ has been the source of extensive debate. This paper focuses on one aspect of the current debate, exploring the relationship between housing and social exclusion, both in theory and in contemporary central government policy in England. I argue that theoretical imprecision is a very real issue, not least because it allows policy makers to refer to rather vague causal mechanisms or social processes to justify actions and interventions. I identify some of the areas that require further exploration and theoretical development if we are to have a rigorous understanding of the concept of social exclusion and its link to housing. Most fundamentally, I suggest that the question of whether the concept of ‘social exclusion’ contributes anything valuable to our ability to understand social disadvantage needs to be addressed directly.     

Social work practice in nursing homes: creativity,leadership, and program development

Housing policy in China has undergone profound changes ever since the dismantlement of the in-kind welfare housing system in 1998. A modern housing system has emerged in China in line with a rapidly growing real estate sector. Meanwhile, China is also plagued with similar housing problems that western governments faced during their industrialization and urbanization and are facing now. In response, the Chinese government has attempted to tackle housing problems by imposing strict regulations on the real estate sector, introducing new affordable housing schemes, and channelling and even limiting housing consumption behaviours. However, the outcome has proved to be meagre. The unsound outcome has driven further policy changes. This paper presents an updated trajectory of housing policy development in the post-reform era. It concludes by discussing implications of housing policy changes on social development and argues that housing policy in China is at a crossroads and is ready for a major overhaul.     

地方政府行为与住房市场健康发展研究——一个研究框架

住房市场是一个分散、区域性分割的市场,中央政府无法直接调节,对住房市场的微观调控是地方政府的职责之一。地方政府在住房市场的职责贯穿从住房生产到房屋消费的各个环节,涉及确定需求、土地供应、存量管理、基础设施建设等众多领域,有时甚至直接给特定群体提供住房。以地方政府行为视角建立一个分析框架,重点剖析地方政府在住房市场中的职责,住房市场利益相关者及管制创新,住房健康发展的内在机制,中央—地方在住房市场既分工又协作的二级管理模式有效运转的约束条件,地方住房战略制定及其有效性等问题,有助于促进我国住房市场的健康发展。     

Perpetuating the problem: neoliberalism,commonwealth public policy and housing affordability in Australia

This paper argues that the scale of the contemporary housing affordability crisis in Australia is at least partly attributable to the influence of neoliberal ideas over the past three decades. After providing an overview of the nature and scope of the crisis, the process by which housing as a policy problem has been reconceptualised by policy makers and others since the 1970s is examined. This is followed by analysis of the ways in which a number of commonwealth government policies which are ideationally underpinned by neoliberalism have amplified and perpetuated the problem of housing affordability in Australia and, ipso facto, prevented the issue from being addressed. The paper concludes by suggesting that policies which are ostensibly intended to improve housing affordability will continue to founder until the ideational obstacles which are the focus of this paper are recognised, and housing policy is reconceptualised along lines more conducive to the amelioration of the housing affordability problem. The paper seeks to extend the existing literature on housing affordability by explicitly identifying the linkages between neoliberal ideas, commonwealth public policy, and the extant problem of housing affordability in Australia.     

住房公积金亟待破解制度瓶颈

住房公积金制度是我国政府为解决职工家庭住房问题,主要借鉴新加坡的成功经验,于1994年开始在我国全面推行的一种政策性融资渠道。但通过十几年的实际运行结果来看,效果并不明显,不仅丧失了其对中低收入阶层的住房保障功能,而且进一步拉大了贫富差距。应采取公积金和养老保险相结合的反按揭模式等相关对策,使公积金制度真正惠及广大中低收入者。     

Geographies of Local Government Stress after the Great Recession

Local governments in the USA are facing increased levels of fiscal stress after the Great Recession. We conducted a national survey in 2012 to assess differences in sources of stress and service delivery responses (privatization, inter‐municipal co‐operation, and public delivery) across places. Our discriminant analysis on 1,889 US cities and counties contributes to the literature on state rescaling. We differentiate three types of stress: fiscal, housing market decline and demographic. Fiscal stress and demographic stress are linked and highest in metro core and rural places, while housing market decline is associated with population density and revenue diversification. Diverse revenue sources can ameliorate some of the fiscal challenges brought on by housing market decline. Regarding service delivery, we find privatization and co‐operation are higher in suburbs. State aid dependence is highest in rural and metro core areas with greater need, but decrease in state aid is highest in the South and West, where fiscal stress is also highest. Decentralization has exacerbated spatial inequality in the wake of the Great Recession challenging the efficiency claims of fiscal federalism. More redistributive state policies are needed.     

论房价调控与房地产市场板块化设计——以北京市为例

北京市特殊的城市性质和定位决定了其房地产市场调控和管理的复杂性。本文从分析我国房改以来国家层面主要的房价调控措施以及北京市细化执行情况入手,探讨北京市房地产市场现状,板块化设计发展思路,即高端商品房、廉租房和最大比例的普通保障性住房三个板块。提出房地产市场板块化发展的意义在于促进社会公平,维护社会稳定,使各路资金各行其道,既可使房价合理又能保障整个市场经济的活力。     

我国《住房保障法》的基本制度建构

十一届全国人大常委会已将《住房保障法》列入立法规划,该法的制定具有重大的经济、社会和政治意义。本文提出了协调政府与市场关系、统一性与灵活性结合、实效性与前瞻性结合以及衔接相关法律的总体起草思路。本文在对《住房保障法》应当涉及的主体制度作一梳理后,提出了《住房保障法》的基本框架建议:总则、住房保障的对象和方式、住房保障的住房和资金、住房保障的准入和退出、监督管理以及法律责任。     

“It's hard work,believe me!”: Active efforts to optimise housing by people who live with mental illness and access housing assistance

Secure and appropriate housing is critical for the well‐being of people living with mental illness (consumers). Yet it is often difficult to achieve. Housing assistance is available, but is often difficult for consumers to access and negotiate. While the need for support is well‐recognised, little is known about the active part consumers play in finding and keeping appropriate accommodation. This paper addresses the research question: How do consumers who use housing assistance actively manage their housing situations? In‐depth interviews were conducted with 18 consumers who had used housing assistance within the past five years. These were analysed using constant comparative analysis, based on a grounded theory approach. Participants engaged in a range of activities to address six major concerns: working toward my home; following the rules to keep what I have; managing and improving my accommodation; working with housing services; living within my current situation; and finding and using supports. All participants described times when their mental health negatively affected their ability to do these activities. The findings highlight the need for housing services and mental health services to collaborate to develop policies and protocols that place reasonable demands on consumers and support their abilities to actively manage their housing situations.     

Questioning Contingency in Social Life: Roles,Agreement and Agency

Structure/agency theories presuppose that there is a unity to structure that distinguishes it from the (potential) diversity of agents' responses. In doing so they formally divide the robust social processes shaping the social world (structure) from contingent agential variation (agency). In this article we question this division by critically evaluating its application to the concept of role in critical realism and structural functionalism. We argue that Archer, Elder‐Vass and Parsons all mistakenly understand a role to have a singular structural definition which agents may then diverge from. Drawing on the work of Gross, Mason and McEachern we argue instead that if agents diverge in their conceptions of what role incumbents should do, there is no single role definition, but rather a range of diverse role‐expectations. Acknowledging this can help us to understand variation in role behaviour, with different incumbents potentially being more exposed to some expectations than others. We argue that considering roles in this way can extend the ability of social scientists to identify robust social processes shaping role behaviour and decrease the extent to which they need to call on contingent factors in such explanations.     

北京市流动人口住房状况的非制度影响因素分析

流动人口的住房研究以往大多集中于制度性因素的研究,但是近来对收入、教育程度、流动时间等非制度因素给予了越来越多的关注。本文利用北京市流动人口的调查数据进行分析研究,发现流动人口住房条件受到收入和在京居住时间这两个因素的显著影响,收入越高、居住时间越长,居住状况就越好。居留的稳定性对住房状况影响显著,但是工作稳定性没有对流动人口住房状况产生影响。因此,对流动人口应实行体现资产建设型的社会政策,普遍推行住房公积金的福利制度。     

What has happened to Australia's public housing? Thirty years of policy and outcomes, 1981 to 2011

This paper uses the release of the 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census results and other recent and historical data sets to explore how Australian public housing has changed over the period 1981–2011. It summarises the contextual factors that have influenced housing provision and consumption in Australia over the past thirty years. The overall supply trends by tenure for Australia and each capital city are set out, followed by analysis of the demographics of public housing tenants, including age, household type, income, mobility, and workforce participation. Issues identified in the paper include insufficient stock and increasingly targeted households, representing a social and financial problem for housing agencies. The current stock is ill‐adapted to tenants' needs; if housing agencies re‐profile the housing to meet such needs, then they risk creating inflexible stock. The paper concludes with reflection on the future of public housing in Australia.     

日、韩公共住宅制度的改革与发展

为低收入阶层供给公共住宅是政府的职责。公共住宅制度包括供给租赁住宅、供给出售住宅以及提供政策性金融支持。本文通过分析日本和韩国的公共住宅制度,指出,日、韩两国以政府为主导,设立了专门的住宅管理机构和租赁住宅供应制度等特点,在实施过程中也取得了较好的社会效果。中国正处于房价快速上涨阶段,建立完善的公共住宅制度具有很强的现实意义。