System of Housing Supply and Housing Production in Europe

This is a comparison of three European states - the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Germany. The book investigates the effect of different policy stances on the volume and tenure of new housing production and examines a number of contemporary theories. The methodology considers the role of markets, political systems and cultural factors in explaining why housing production outcomes differ.;Comparative housing studies can be criticised for a number of reasons. Sometimes the theoretical framework lacks raison d'etre, other times the approach comprises a purely descriptive country-by-country overview. This study differs in the emphasis given to methodological problems and in the approach to comparative systems, which is on an issue-by-issue basis. The conclusions show that systems of supply in which governements intervene significantly, often regulate production more successfully than those in which production is mainly market-driven.