The Politics of Homeownership

With multivariate analysis of national survey data from 1976 and 1980, we test the conventional wisdom that ownership has a conservatizing political effect and encourages political participation. Using measures of ideological identification, voting choice, and attitudes toward socioeconomic policy, we find that homeownership is associated to some extent with more conservative politics in the population as a whole, but its net effects are small or not significant. In terms of political participation, homeowners are somewhat more inclined to vote than renters, but not to participate more actively at the local or national level. We test also the proposition that homeownership has a conservatizing effect and promotes participation within the working class, in effect fragmenting it as a political force. Among workers, homeownership is associated modestly with a conservative orientation and participation in terms of voting.