Cutback Contradictions in Dutch Housing Policy

Abstract

This paper describes housing policy in the Netherlands and the current crisis over subsidies. It argues that the development of the welfare state, the housing system, and recent retrenchment contain contradictions which reflect the distinctive nature of Dutch politics and social structure. In particular, it suggests that the existence of pillarized social cleavages has been influential in the growth of a progressive welfare state, in providing a secure base for social rented housing, and in sustaining high levels of support for spending on housing subsidies. Expenditure cutbacks and measures for administrative rationalization are outlined, and some of the contradictory effects on housing policy are examined.