This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Boyne, G. A. Articles by Walker, R. M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Social Housing Reforms in England and Wales: A Public Choice Evaluation

Public Services Research Unit, Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, CF10 3EU, UK, Boyne{at}cf.ac.uk

Richard M. Walker

Department of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University, CF10 3WA, UK, Walkerrm{at}cf.ac.uk

Public choice theory provides three main principles for the management of social housing: market structures should be competitive; organisations should be compelled to produce information on their efficiency and effectiveness; and large agencies should be disaggregated into smaller units. Social housing reforms in England and Wales have largely reflected these principles. However, it is difficult to establish the impact of public choice policies because data on housing performance are incomplete. Furthermore, the effects of housing reforms are clouded by a range of social and economic changes in the context of housing management. Nevertheless, the available evidence suggests that public choice principles have had contradictory effects: efficiency and responsiveness have improved, but equity has deteriorated. Thus judgements on public choice theory depend on the weight attached to these different dimensions of performance.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?