Financialization interrupted: Unwilling subjects of housing reform in Morocco

Researchers have increasingly sought to account for the ways in which financial systems permeate everyday life, interpolating individuals as entrepreneurial investor subjects. This article examines why some people reject such financial opportunities as unwilling subjects. This issue is examined in the context of the Moroccan housing market and the associated financial products and services deployed to expand home ownership to low-income buyers. The article demonstrates how efforts to promote financial services to improve access to affordable housing failed to account for the social and cultural significance of the Moroccan home beyond its immediate exchangeability. The values and practices promoted by affordable housing reforms often conflicted with the long-standing relationships between individuals, their homes, and the wider community. Residents’ unwillingness to engage with the market has disrupted the growth of housing financialization and has rendered associated housing policies for low-income residents unstable.