The stretched rubber band: banks, houses, debt and vulnerability in Australia

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the development of residential capitalism and financialisation in Australia. It outlines the series of economic vulnerabilities developing in the financial system, centred on household debt and inflated property markets. It then analyses why policy-makers have done so little to restrict the growth of household debt and house prices. I argue that financial policy-makers have underestimated the financial vulnerabilities building up in Australia – as evidenced by the slow take-up of macroprudential policies. I outline four reasons: first, the excellent profit performance of the major banks; second, the policy predilection for idealised economic liberal regulation; third, the development of a politico-housing complex; and, finally, the growing role of household debt in ameliorating distributional conflict by underpinning growth.

本文分析了澳大利亚住宅资本主义的发展及其金融化。作者勾勒了金融系统中出现的一系列经济风险性，并集中讨论了家庭债务和膨胀的房地产市场。文章还分析了何以政策制定者对于家庭债务及房屋价格的增长无所作为、不加限制。笔者认为，金融政策制定者低估了澳大利亚正在形成的金融风险，宏观政策的姗姗来迟便说明了这一点。笔者大致总结了四个原因。首先，各大银行盈利出色；其次，对于理想化的经济自由主义管制方式的偏好；再次，形成了政治—住房复合体；最后，家庭债务促了增长，在改善分配性矛盾中发挥了越来越重要的作用。

KEYWORDS:

• Financialisation
• debt
• macroprudential
• banking
• property

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Tom Conley is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University. Contact Tom Conley [email protected]