Department of Property hosts visiting scholar seminar on state capacity in housing policy
The Department of Property welcomed Professor Alexander Styhre from the University of Gothenburg for a research seminar exploring how state capacity shapes the implementation of public housing policy.
The Department of Property at the University of Auckland Business School hosted an international research seminar on Wednesday, 22 April 2026, featuring Professor Alexander Styhre of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Held in the Owen G Glenn Building on Grafton Road, the seminar brought together faculty members, doctoral researchers, and students for a scholarly discussion on the role of the state in housing policy implementation.
Professor Styhre, Chair of Management and Organization in the Department of Business Administration at the School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg, delivered a seminar titled “State Capacity in Housing Policy Implementation”. His presentation drew on recent research, co-authored with Sara Brorström and forthcoming in the Scandinavian Journal of Management, examining how active decision making by public authorities shapes housing policy outcomes in high-interest rate environments.
In his presentation, Professor Styhre argued that the sovereign state is too often underestimated as a market maker and market regulator. Drawing on a study of a public housing strategy implemented across disadvantaged city districts in a Swedish metropolitan area, he outlined three dimensions of state capacity that are central to effective policy delivery: the establishment of laws, regulations, and policies; the formation of state or municipal agencies and public companies with the professional expertise needed to monitor and regulate markets; and the ability to detect and exploit policy-relevant market opportunities. A key insight from his research was that state capacity must not only be built, but also actively used in ways consistent with enacted policy goals.
The seminar attracted strong engagement from attendees, with questions and discussion covering comparative housing policy, the role of public agencies in market regulation, and the implications of Professor Styhre’s framework for housing affordability debates in New Zealand and beyond. The session underscored the value of connecting doctoral and early-career researchers in Auckland with leading international scholarship on housing and urban governance.
The session underscored the value of connecting doctoral and early-career researchers in Auckland with leading international scholarship on housing and urban governance.
Professor Styhre is currently a visiting scholar at the Department of Management and International Business at the University of Auckland Business School, hosted from February to April 2026. He is the author of several books on housing and affordability, including The business of affordable housing: Case studies of the commercial supply of affordable homes (Routledge, 2024) and The economics of affordable housing (Routledge, 2023). His visit has provided valuable opportunities for collaboration across the Business School, strengthening connections between research communities working on housing, management, and public policy.
The seminar reflects the Department of Property’s ongoing commitment to fostering international research exchange and providing a platform for staff, doctoral researchers, and students to engage directly with leading scholars on contemporary housing and urban policy challenges.