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International Journal of Housing Policy 5Downloaded by [Norsk Institutt for By og] at 07:07 11 March 2013for high-income groups, while only low-income groups can get housing allowances inrental housing. Segmentation can also result from the way access to tenures is regulated.Sometimes only low-income groups can access subsidised social/public housing.In this article, the housing outcomes of immigrants are characterised by two measures.The first is the immigrants’ achieved position in housing tenures compared with that of thewhole population. This is called the ‘ethnic segmentation of the housing market’.The housing market segmentation of immigrants gives a picture of to what extentimmigrants have easy or difficult access to different housing tenures, especially to homeownershipand social/public housing. Particularly in American literature on the processesof integration (assimilation) of immigrants (Borjas, 2002; Alba & Nee, 1997), homeownershipis often seen as a sign of positive social integration. In this light a high segmentationof immigrants, resulting in a higher representation in rental housing, could be seen as a signof weak integration and failed integration policies. Another negative aspect related to highsegmentation is that different tenures tend to be concentrated in different neighbourhoods.High segmentation can therefore result in higher segregation of immigrants and concentrationin low-cost tenures, often social/public housing in particular neighbourhoods (SkifterAndersen, Andersen, & Ærø., 2000).The second measure used in this article to compare immigrants’ housing positionbetween the four Nordic countries is the proportion of immigrants living in overcrowdeddwellings compared with the whole population. This ‘relative overcrowding’ is a measureof to what extent the housing consumption, which immigrants have obtained, differs fromthe general level of the countries.In the final analysis, our focus is on how the differences in ethnic segmentation andrelative overcrowding between the countries can be explained by differences in housingpolicies, housing markets and housing stocks. We distinguish between conditions thatincrease or decrease the housing options of low-income groups, and conditions that havea special significance for immigrants beside the effects for low-income groups. We tryto find explanations for differences in overcrowding and why immigrants are over- orunderrepresented in different tenures in the countries by looking at specific elements oftheir housing policies. We also examine whether the differences between immigrants’housing position in the various countries can be explained by differences in the position ofincome groups.The data used in the article come from many different statistical sources and it hasnot been easy to obtain comparable data. The sources of the data are specified withinrelevant tables. Some of the data have been collected in connection with the NODESproject (Andersson et al., 2010); other data have been collected separately from nationalstatistical offices. Data on homeownership rates in income groups stems from an EU survey.Immigration to the four Nordic countriesIt has been demonstrated in several studies that different ethnic groups can have varyinghousing preferences and perform differently on the housing market (Skifter Andersen 2012).There are differences especially between immigrants coming from Western countries andthose coming from non-Western countries. When in the following sections we look atexplanations for differences between the four Nordic countries, it is therefore important tobe aware of the differences in the immigration to the countries.As described in Andersson et al. (2010), there are some important distinctions in thenature of the immigration to the four Nordic countries. The extent of immigration varies,
6 H. Skifter Andersen et al.Table 1. Immigrants living in four Nordic countries and the proportion of them coming from EasternEurope and Non-European countries.Denmark Finland Norway SwedenProportion of population born outside the 9.8 4.4 10.8 14.3country,%Immigrants from Eastern Europe,% 0.8 1.7 1.8 3.2Immigrants from non-Europeancountries,%4.5 1.5 5.0 6.2Source: Anderson et al. 2010.Downloaded by [Norsk Institutt for By og] at 07:07 11 March 2013as shown in Table 1. Finland has received much fewer immigrants than the other countries,while the share of immigrants in Sweden is about 40% higher than in Denmark and Norway.Moreover, the ethnic composition of immigrants varies between the countries. Mostimmigrants to Finland come from Eastern Europe, especially Russia. Finland has relativelyfew immigrants from countries outside Europe, compared with the other three countries,in which a total of 5% of the whole population are immigrants who originate from outsideEurope. Norway, Finland and Sweden also have many immigrants from Eastern Europe.Housing policies in the four Nordic countriesThe function of the housing markets is outcome result of policies influencing housingconditions. The important issue in this article is whether housing policy has a differentimpact on the housing of the immigrant population than that of the majority population.In the following sections we will present major traits of housing policies and housingmarkets in the four Nordic countries to explain immigrants’ position and segmentation inthe housing market. There is not the space for a detailed description in this article, but amore thorough description can be found in Skifter Andersen (2012).Housing policy can be defined as public initiatives that affect the supply, price andquality of dwellings, as well as how they are distributed among households. Housing policyis to some extent intertwined with urban policy, which influences where and how dwellingsare located and the qualities of neighbourhoods.Some general features of housing policies can be indicated that are important forimmigrants. As stated above, immigrants’ housing options are very dependent on the generaloptions on the housing market for low-income groups, and the ethnic segmentation of themarket depends much on the degree of income segmentation. This segmentation dependson the extent that housing policy creates equal opportunities and economic incentives indifferent tenures. If housing subsidies or tax incentives are designed in such a way thathigh-income groups receive the largest support in owner-occupation and only low-incomegroups are supported in rental housing, it can be expected that there will be pronouncedincome segmentation. Yet, if housing policy is more universalistic, in the sense that it isto a greater extent aimed at housing for the whole population and not only for vulnerablelow-income groups, income segmentation will be lower.Another important feature is whether housing policy makes the market more, or less,transparent. Complicated systems of economic support and rules for access to housingmake it more difficult for immigrants, with limited knowledge of the housing systems, toidentify good housing options. Connected to this is whether conditions for discriminationare enhanced. If rules for access to rental dwellings are unclear, or if allocation is entrustedto landlords alone, the risk of discrimination is greater.
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