ABSTRACTS

Private sheltered housing in the Netherlands and Great Britain The author introduces a simple theoretical model of the housing career of households during various phases of the life cycle. He argues that in the Netherlands there is an "inappropriate influx" of mainly elderly home owners into the public rented sector from the owner-occupied sector. Many of these elderly home owners have sufficient income and/or capital to buy new housing. The extent of this inappropriate influx has been quantified using data drawn from the CBS Woningbehoefteonderzoek1985/86. The main conclusion of this paper is that though there is significant potential demand for private sheltered housing in the Netherlands, there is a lack of adequate supply. In order to suggest possible solutions to the problem of under supply the British experience of developing private sector sheltered housing is examined. The rise of owner-occupied sheltered housing in Britain is explained by four factors: the difficulty in home owners entering the rented sector, the important role of housing associations in developing alternatives, (temporary) government support in financing LSEs, and the discovery by private developers of a consumer group relatively unaffected by trends in the level of interest rates. The British example proves that if there is an adequate supply of sheltered housing for sale, market demand will be stimulated. In the Netherlands an important role can be played by local and central government and by housing associations and others involved in the housing market in developing sheltered housing schemes in the owner-occupied sector. Reducing the level of inappropriate influx into the social rented sector would increase the chances of those households who cannot afford to buy their own home finding suitable housing. Housing asset vaues and the mobility of elderly home owners: housing research and policy issues In many countries home ownership initially expanded among younger households. As the tenure matures, however, increasing numbers of the elderly become home owners because of the ageing of the population already owning Neth. J. of Housing and the Built Environment, Vol. 6 (1991) No. 1.

65

their own home. The proportion of home owners among elderly households in the Netherlands is expected to increase substantially during the 1990s. This process raises important questions about the organization, management and financing of home ownership. Data for the 1980s show that income and the value of property lead to divergent patterns of housing choice by elderly home owners. It is expected that many home owners with a low income and whose house has a low capital value will want to move to the (social) rented sector in the coming decade. This could have important implications for policy. Unification of the European building market: possible consequences for the Dutch construction industry The disappearance of national frontiers within the European Community after 1992 will have important consequences for the Dutch construction industry. The larger building firms will become more internationally competitive, and there will also be a tendency to greater co-operation and more frequent mergers. In addition, the harmonization of technical regulations, standards and the declarations of quality for the construction industry will be of importance. Further, the building supply industry will strengthen its position as unification of the European market continues. The principle of free competition is currently violated in the building industry as a result of certain protectionist practices. There will be increasing pressure in post-1992 Europe to abolish such practices. It is not until these have been abolished that the Dutch building industry will be able to profit most from the process of Europeanization. Housing, gender and family policies in the Soviet Union under perestroika The Soviet economy was inert and stagnant in the late-1970s and early-1980s. It was in that context that Gorbachev embarked on perestroika, which was intended to radically reform the economy and to greatly increase efficiency. Perestroika has, of course, potential implications for the whole of the economy and society. Housing, gender, and family policies are particularly important in the reconstruction of Soviet society. By 1984-85, at the beginning of the period of perestroika, there were significant shortages of housing; furthermore, the form of the housing available and the system of allocation in use created barriers and inequalities. Perestroika, on the other hand, presaged dynamic change. It aimed at greater economic flexibility, labour mobility, greater personal and societal freedom, and more awareness of gender inequality in domestic work and paid employment. There were a number of contradictory aspects to gender and family policies prior to perestroika; these included the simultaneous emphases on the domestic labour and child-care roles of women on the one hand, and their employment in the wider economy on the other. Our study illustrates the links between perestroika, housing, gender, and family policies in the period after 1985. It forms a companion piece to an earlier study in which we sought to elaborate these contradictions and consider their relevance for policies concerning housing and women in the Soviet Union in the period before perestroika. 66