Home-Ownership and Social Inequality in Italy

In this paper we present the results of a study regarding the relationships between homeownership and social class in Italy. Using data from the 1998 Survey on Household Income and Wealth, we have performed an event history analysis on the chances and ways of home-ownership attainment. At the theoretical level we look into the debates concerning the “consumption classes” and the “risk/globalised society”, that suggest home-ownership has become rather class undifferentiated and that, in general, social class is currently losing significance as a predictor of concrete life chances. Furthermore, we discuss some institutional specificities of the Italian housing system. The empirical results show that, contrary to the assumptions whereby “consumption classes” and “risk/globalised society” perspectives are based, class differences in home-ownership entry have instead increased in younger cohorts.