The Interplay Between Urban Political Economy and Formal Homeownership: Evidence from Ethiopia

Article Sidebar

View PDF

Information Fusion

Article Type: Research Article
Issue: Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026)
Published: 29 December 2025
Pages: 1-18

How to Cite

Debele, E. T., Negussie, T., Mulugeta, S., & Asres, K. (2025). The Interplay Between Urban Political Economy and Formal Homeownership: Evidence from Ethiopia. Urban-Regional Ecology, 2(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.65773/ure.2.1.60

Main Article Content

Authors

Efa Tadesse Debele 1 * , 
Taye Negussie 2 , 
Solomon Mulugeta 2 , 
Kassahun Asres 2
1 Samara University, Semera, Afar, Ethiopia
2 Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the nature of the urban political economy and its impacts on formal homeownership in Ethiopian cities. A mixed-methods research design was employed, integrating qualitative and quantitative data. Quantitative data were collected through surveys from 384 randomly selected urban residents, while qualitative data were gathered via in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. All data were analyzed using SPSS 26 for quantitative analysis and thematic analysis for qualitative data, with findings triangulated for interpretation. The results revealed significant statistical relationships between structural factors and housing status. Specifically, the multinomial logistic regression model indicated that residents with structural support (mortgage availability, political favor) were 3.2 times more likely to achieve formal homeownership (Odds Ratio = 3.21, p < 0.01). Conversely, high-risk housing market dynamics and the adaptive capacity of residents to cope with them were negatively and significantly associated with formal homeownership (beta = -0.45, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the data showed a positive correlation between the weak socio-economic capacity of residents and housing segregation (r = 0.61). Thematic analysis highlighted that the regulatory and interactional dimensions of the rental housing market are major explanatory variables contributing to a problematic rental scenario. It was also found that informal housing has become the most common housing market type, fraught with social and economic controversies. The findings suggest that paradoxes inherent in the urban political economy, driven by weak structural support and negative market dynamics, have caused the bleakness and inaccessibility of formal homeownership for the majority of urban residents. The authors recommend the formulation of a housing policy that is sensitive to local socio-economic realities and the prevailing urban political economy.

Keywords:
housing, homeownership, political economy, structural barriers, urbanization

Article Details

References

[1]Ministry of Urban Development, Housing and Construction. (2014). Housing development policy and strategic framework. Government of Ethiopia.

[2]Hjort, B., & Widén, K. (2015). Introduction of sustainable low-cost housing in Ethiopia: An innovation diffusion perspective. Procedia Economics and Finance, 21, 454–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00199-9

[3]Degefa, T., & Djamba, Y. K. (2015). Overcrowding of residential houses in Ethiopia: A study of selected demographic and socio-economic correlates. Ethiopian Journal of the Social Sciences and Humanities, 11(1), 127–152.

[4]Tadesse, W. B. (2017). Determinants of financing integrated housing development program in selected cities of the Regional State of Oromia [Master’s thesis, Ambo University].

[5]Yakubu, I., Akaateba, M., & Akanbang, B. (2016). Drivers of housing development in Tamale Metropolitan District, Ghana. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift – Norwegian Journal of Geography, 70(4), 247–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/00291951.2016.1192679

[6]Garrido, M. (2021). Reconceptualizing segregation from the Global South. City & Community, 20(1), 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1111/cico.12504

[7]Debele, E. T., & Negussie, T. (2022). Housing logic: Rationalities behind housing choice behavior in coping housing market dynamics among urban residents in Sebeta Town, Ethiopia. Research in Globalization, 5, 100099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2022.100099

[8]Preston, G., & Reina, V. J. (2022). Sheltered from eviction? A framework for understanding the relationship between subsidized housing programs and eviction. Housing Policy Debate. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2021.1879202

[9]Harvey, D. (2005). A brief history of neoliberalism. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199283262.001.0001

[10]Giddens, A., & Sutton, P. W. (2017). Sociology (8th ed.). Polity Press.

[11]Watts, B., & Blenkinsopp, J. (2022). Valuing control over one’s immediate living environment: How homelessness responses corrode capabilities. Housing, Theory and Society, 39(1), 98–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2020.1867236

[12]Mulugeta, S. (1999). Public ownership of urban land and low-income home ownership in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review, 15(1), 79–96.

[13]Debele, E. T., & Negussie, T. (2025). Social networks and dispositional factors determining housing status of urban residents: Evidence from Ethiopia. Housing Studies, 40(4), 798–823. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2024.2317213

[14]Lancione, M. (2020). Radical housing: On the politics of dwelling as difference. International Journal of Housing Policy, 20(2), 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2019.1611121

[15]Debele, E. T. (2019). Urban housing politics: Dynamics, challenges and coping mechanisms of urban housing problems in Sebeta Town. Journal of Human Resource Management, 7(4), 93–98. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jhrm.20190704.13

[16]Manomano, T., Tanga, P. T., & Tanyi, P. (2020). Housing challenges and coping mechanisms: A case study of low-income households in South Africa. Journal of Human Ecology, 69(1–3), 136–145.

[17]Ng, M. K., Tang, W. S., Lee, J., & Leung, W. Y. (2020). The invisible hand of state-led urbanization in post-reform China. Urban Studies, 57(8), 1634–1652.

[18]Wimark, T., Andersson, E. K., & Malmberg, B. (2020). Tenure type landscapes and housing market change: A geographical perspective on neo-liberalization in Sweden. Housing Studies, 35(2), 214–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2019.1595535

[19]Midega, M. (2021). Governing contested cities in federations: Urban politics, conflicts and policies of Addis Ababa & Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Subi Printing Press.

[20]Makkonen, H., Siemieniako, D., & Mitręga, M. (2023). Structural and behavioural power dynamics in buyer-supplier relationships: A perceptions-based framework and a research agenda. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 35(9), 1099–1113. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2021.1991574

[21]Mwau, N., Sverdlik, A., & Makau, J. (2020). Urban density and the shaping of social and economic life in informal settlements. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 44(3), 475–492.

[22]Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

[23]Muzein, M. T. (2017). The name of development: Gentrification and domicide: The case of redevelopment programs of three low-income neighborhoods in Addis Ababa [Bachelor’s thesis, Lund University].

[24]Thompson, A. (2014). The political economy of urban housing: Structural barriers and affordability in the Global South. Urban Studies, 51(4), 821–839.

[25]Anacker, K. B. (2019). Introduction: Housing affordability and affordable housing. International Journal of Housing Policy, 19(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2018.1560544

[26]Mohammed, E. W. (2017). Affordable housing: Practices and prospects of house supply in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia [Conference paper]. 7th European Conference on African Studies.

[27]Beswick, J., Alexandri, G., Byrne, M., Vives-Miró, S., Fields, D., Hodkinson, S., & Janoschka, M. (2016). Speculating on London's housing future: The rise of global corporate landlords in ‘post-crisis’ urban landscapes. City, 20(2), 321–341. https://doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2016.1145946

[28]Berhe, A. G., Soressa, Y. A., Erena, D. B., Hassen, I. M., & Mamaru, T. L. (2017). Housing in Ethiopia: Social inclusion and energy management for informal urban settlements—An overview. EiABC.

[29]Kiduanga, J. (2017). Challenges for urban housing development for improved livelihoods and well-being of the population of the low-income group in Tanzania: The case of Dar es Salaam. African Population Studies, 31(1), 3120–3135. https://doi.org/10.11564/31-1-969

[30]Hirboro, S. G. (2017). Rental house price determinants and affordability in Hawassa City, Ethiopia. Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development, 39, 1–10.

[31]Paul, A., Sen, J., & Sen, S. (2016). Urbanization and housing: A study on the housing condition of a million-plus city in India. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning, 9(6), 105–117.

[32]Greiner, C., & Kroll, M. (2017). The housing-health nexus in informal settlements: A review of the literature. Urban Studies, 54(16), 3681–3697.

[33]Weinstein, L. (2021). Evictions: Reconceptualizing housing insecurity from the Global South. City & Community, 20(1), 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/cico.12503

[34]Gurran, N., Maalsen, S., & Shrestha, P. (2022). Is ‘informal’ housing an affordability solution for expensive cities? Evidence from Sydney, Australia. International Journal of Housing Policy, 22(1), 10–33. https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2020.1805147

[35]McArthur, M., & Stratford, E. (2021). Housing aspirations, pathways, and provision: Contradictions and compromises in pursuit of voluntary simplicity. Housing Studies, 36(5), 714–736. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2020.1720614

[36]Ondakie, A. B., Serbeh-Yiadom, K. C., & Asfaw, M. (2015). The condominium scheme as a strategy for housing slum dwellers: The case of Gofa Mebrat Hail Condominium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Developing Country Studies, 5(9), 159–165.

[37]Debele, E. T., & Negussie, T. (2022). Socio-demographic and socio-economic dynamics underlying housing development of urban residents in Sebeta town, Ethiopia. Cogent Social Sciences, 8(1), Article 2130210. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2130210

[38]Debele, E. T., & Negussie, T. (2023). Political economy of informal housing scenario in Sebeta, Furi, and Gelan Guda subcity of Sheger City, Oromia, Ethiopia. Research in Globalization, 7, Article 100161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resglo.2023.100161

[39]Debele, E. T., Negussie, T., & Mulugeta, S. (2024). Institutions’ dynamics and homeownership aspirations in Ethiopia. Discover Global Society, 2, Article 46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44282-024-00073-5

[40]Debele, E. T., Negussie, T., & Mulugeta, S. (2024). Private rental housing market in Ethiopia: Aspirations and challenges. Heliyon, 10(14), Article e34281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34281

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.