Homeownership and Left-Right Orientation

Abstract: In this thesis I provide Swedish evidence suggesting that homeownership affects left-right orientation, a dimension that structures politics to a large extent in this country. While homeownership is a largely omitted variable in studies on political views, the home one owns is the most important asset of many Swedes today. I thus expect it to affect political views via its economic value. Using ordered logistic regression on survey data from 2012, I find that homeownership is indeed associated with a more rightist, or less leftist, political orientation. Drawing on the notion of egotropy, i.e. that private economic circumstances influence political views, I unveil a price pattern which strengthens the causal theory: the association between homeownership and a rightist orientation is stronger in areas where house-prices are higher. I also find that homeownership accounts for some of the loosening up of the relationship between left-right orientation and class, as the relationship is driven by some otherwise leftist class groups, and, relatedly, that it is driven by people who preferred parties in opposition to the 2006-2014 right-wing government. Moreover, the relationship with left-right orientation is reflected in certain issue preferences and in party preferences.