The privatization of housing assistance

Are housing allowances eroding government accountability

Bibliographic Data

ID9783749
AuthorsMaroine Bendaoud (0000-0003-0382-9896, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume62
Issue2
Pages312-332
Publication date2019-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Public Administration (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-4840 • E-ISSN: 1754-7121
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/capa.12318
OpenAlexW2945730225
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited15

A major change in the low‐income housing sector across nations has been the introduction of housing allowances (or vouchers/benefits) typically used on private rental markets. This change is a fundamental shift from post‐war housing policy when government was a main provider through publicly owned housing. This “privatization” is usually associated with the New Public Management. This article addresses this policy change and discusses the implications for the accountability of governments in Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta. This article argues that the policy shift from in‐kind to in‐cash has not eroded accountability due to the distinctiveness of housing assistance, compared to other social programs. Actors involved in the housing community continue to challenge governments with regard to consumption subsidies, emphasizing their flaws and imperfections. The argument is empirically probed through a comparative analysis over 50 years, drawing on government archival records and housing advocates’ publications

Accountability · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Government (linguistics · Market economy · Optimal distinctiveness theory · Political science · Private sector · Public housing · Rental housing · Renting · Subsidized housing · Subsidy · Voucher · Accounting · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Public Administration · Urban Planning and Governance

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