Markets versus Planning: An Assessment of the Swedish Housing Model in the Post-war Period

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to present a comparative economic systems evaluation of the Swedish housing model. The evaluation examines success in achieving equity as well as efficiency goals and incorporates key comparisons with the market-oriented US housing model. From the late 1940s up to the major housing reforms of the early 1990s, a form of strong economic planning characterised the Swedish housing sector. By the early 1970s, the housing standard for all income-groups had been raised markedly and urban slums eliminated. Yet, Sweden's success came at huge resource cost while at the same time important equity goals were compromised. For example, Swedish building costs are among the highest in the world while in Sweden's major cities socioeconomic segregation is more pronounced than ever before in the post-war period.