Housing and the Welfare State in Norway

This article discusses housing and the welfare state in Norway in 1980 and 2005 by applying Esping-Andersen's theories of welfare state regimes to this sector. How should Norwegian housing policy be understood in light of Esping-Andersen's conceptual framework, and what is the impact of post-industrial change? In 1980, Norwegian housing policy was mainly characterised by social-democratic traits such as market regulation, substantial public expenditure and universal subsidies for both renters and a large owner-occupied housing sector. The effects of post-industrial changes, including deregulation of the credit and housing markets, marked a major turn in housing policy and the housing market in Norway. By 2005, Norwegian housing policy was mainly characterised by traits that are typical of a liberal welfare regime: market economics, low public expenditure and subsidies for small, targeted groups, while other segments of the Norwegian welfare state remain characterised by social-democratic traits. Esping-Andersen's claim that the effect of post-industrial transformation was different in different welfare regimes is thus not supported by the case of the Norwegian housing sector.