Housing and Governance (16 November)
Prof. Josef Konvitz, Directorate of Public Governance and Territorial Development, OECD, and Honorary Professor in the School of Education, University of Glasgow
An ASRF Seminar
Date and time: 16 November 2011, 4–6pm
Venue: Seminar Room 109, 66 Oakfield Avenue
Housing markets were particularly important as a factor in the crisis in 2007, with effects that have been felt beyond the housing sector in many countries. Macroeconomic policy packages frequently call for a mix of macroeconomic and microeconomic reforms, without consideration of the regulatory policy process at central, and especially at sub-national, levels where the reforms would have to be adopted. This blind spot reflects a mechanistic approach to regulatory reform, ignoring that it is highly embedded in governance. A coherent set of policy instruments unlikely. The paper also questions two assumptions about housing markets and society which the crisis has brought into relief: that home ownership is important to promote social stability, and that flexible housing markets help to bring down unemployment by promoting better resource allocation. The conclusion outlines an agenda for housing reform better aligned with the interests of the middle class.
To reserve a place, please email adamsmith-asrf@glasgow.ac.uk
+ Informal Lunch Meeting (8 November)
The ASRF will also host an informal greeting for Professor Konvitz, with lunch provided, at which he will be able to discuss his work for the OECD, and other issues around public policy.
Lunch Venue: Seminar Room 109, 66 Oakfield Avenue
Date and time: Tuesday 8 November 2011, 12.00-1.30pm
Josef Konvitz is Head of Regulatory Policy in the OECD’s Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development. The Regulatory Policy Division carries out studies on risk and regulation, regulatory management indicators, administrative simplification, multi-level regulatory coherence, and public service delivery. Professor Konvitz has directed numerous country reviews and monitoring exercises on regulatory reform, and was responsible for the updating of OECD recommendations on regulatory reform, now the 2005 Guiding Principles for Regulatory Quality and Performance, and for the preparation of the APEC-OECD Integrated Checklist for Regulatory Reform. Professor Konvitz joined the OECD in 1992 in the Urban Affairs Division after nearly twenty years on the faculty of Michigan State University. His work on urban policy at the OECD has included reviews many urban areas and national policies and infrastructures, a study on urban indicators (the Ecological City project), and a major report on Distressed Urban Areas.
Please indicate your intention to attend either event by emailing adamsmith-asrf@glasgow.ac.uk