A fraud, a drunkard, and a worthless scamp’
Estate agents, regulation, and Realtors in the interwar period
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8420589 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark Latham (Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 59 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 690-709 |
| Publication date | 2017-07-04 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Business History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-6791 • E-ISSN: 1743-7938 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00076791.2016.1261828 |
| OpenAlex | W2573189165 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 34 |
The estate agency industry played a key role in the growth of the interwar property market. An important feature of the industry was the low barriers to entry, particularly in terms of regulating practitioners. Yet repeated attempts were made to introduce mandatory licensing of estate agents during this period, all of which failed. This article explores why these attempts were instigated, by whom, and why they failed. It utilises the comparison with the successful introduction of licensing for real estate brokers in the US. The article argues that the desire for a professional identity fuelled these regulatory efforts, and that industry specific endogenous tensions led to their failure. In doing so, this article informs our knowledge of both the interwar development of this key service industry, and of the concepts used to analyse regulation more generally
Aesthetics · Agency (philosophy · Business · Economics · Economy · Estate · Identity (music · Interwar period · Market economy · Period (music · Political science · Real estate · Social science · Sociology · World War II · Finance · Historical and Scientific Studies · Historical Psychiatry and Medical Practices · Law · Occupational and Professional Licensing Regulation
The Sociology of the Professions
Capitalism and Freedom
Analyzing the Extent and Influence of Occupational Licensing on the Labor Market
The Theory of Economic Regulation
Business and Politics in Europe, 1900–1970
Owner-Occupation in Britain
Social capital and trade associations in America, c. 1860-1914
Quacks, Lemons, and Licensing
Specialization and Regulation
The Rise of the Corporate Economy
Regulation in America
Real Estate Development and Urban Form
Advertising, promotion, and the rise of a national building society movement in interwar Britain
UK Government Regulation of Medicinal Drugs, 1890–2000
Marketing mass home ownership and the creation of the modern working-class consumer in inter-war Britain
Inter-War House Building, Cheap Money and Building Societies
"The Market for "Lemons
Occupational Power, State Capacities, and the Diffusion of Licensing in the American States
The Evolving Culture of Retailer Regulation and the Failure of the 'Balfour Bill' in Interwar Britain
The Twilight World of Interwar British Hire Purchase
The Scale and Nature of the Growth of Owner-Occupation in Britain between the Wars
The Professionalization of Everyone
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |