The changing role of cooperatives in the Swedish housing regime – a path dependence analysis

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated the importance of path dependence in housing institutions and policy. So far, however, perspectives of path dependence have not been systematically applied to cooperative housing. This article analyses, in terms of path dependence and change, the historical development of the uniquely large Swedish cooperative sector and its role in the Swedish universal housing regime. The main focus is on three political processes, which are found to be ‘critical junctures’ changing the historical trajectory of the cooperative sector: (1) the introduction of the first Tenant-Ownership Act in 1930, when tenant-ownership was established as a housing tenure; (2) the introduction of the Swedish universal housing regime after WWII, when cooperative housing was granted a central role in housing provision; (3) the deregulation of the cooperative tenure in 1968–1969, which opened the road towards marketization and further expansion. The games between political actors and cooperative leaders and members at these critical junctures and the institutional outcomes are analysed in terms of mechanisms of path dependence. The article concludes with a discussion of the merits and potential problems of applying path dependence analysis to housing regimes in general and to the role of housing cooperatives more particularly.