The role of housing policies in the systemic efficiency of developing countries: analysis applied to the Uruguayan experience

Abstract

This paper analyzes the inclusion of the housing sector in the systemic efficiency of States and applies the case study to the Uruguayan process by scrutinizing the reforms implemented by left-wing governments since 2005. It presents and analyzes the nature of the housing sector, which is defined as systemic due to its impact (in conjunction with the social issue) on the general development of the production and financial systems of a country and its systemic efficiency in relation to the external situation. This paper scrutinizes the different stages involved in the evolution of the systemic integration of housing, which includes the transformation of its social function into a financial and productive function. These policy categories evolved as follows: from the classical (universal) social policies on housing and (targeted) social housing policies defining the role of the State in the production of dwellings, to the recent inclusion of the low-cost housing concept that replicates the experience of other Latin American countries and creates a quasi-housing market that ignores the social issue.