This paper deals with bibliometric analysis and visualization of theory development of funding social housing considering connection of sociological and economic research. The main purpose of the research is to identify dominant trends in cross-sectoral research related to the development of the theory of funding social housing considering connection of sociological and economic research. Systematization literary sources and approaches for solving the problem of funding social housing indicates that the bibliometric analysis of scientific papers indexed in the Scopus database based on using VOSViewer software package and the Scopus scientometric database analysis were not applied enough in the scientific area of this research. Investigation of the topic about research activity in funding social, affordable, and public housing emphasizing the connection of sociological and economic patterns is carried out in the following logical sequence: introduction and proving the relevance of research problem; literature revue with generalization and analysis of scholars experience of bibliometric analysis and visualization in general and in funding social, public, and affordable housing in particular; the main part of investigation related directly to the Scopus scientometric database analysis and the bibliometric analysis of scientific papers indexed in the Scopus database based on using VOSViewer; conclusion of research. Methodological tools of the research methods were logical generalization and scientific abstraction, statistical and structural analysis, comparative, and graphical analysis using Excel 2010 software, Scopus database tools and VOSViewer software package v.1.6.16. The object of the Scopus database analysis was a sample of 5 385 scientific articles indexed in the Scopus scientometric database for the period from 1948 to 2020, and generated by the following keywords for search request: ‘funding social housing’, ‘financing social housing’, ‘social housing finance’, ‘funding affordable housing’, ‘financing affordable housing’, ‘affordable housing finance’, ‘funding public housing’, ‘financing public housing’, and ‘public housing finance’ (limit in 2020 is due to the availability of information on open portal of Scopus database and incomplete data for 2021). The top trends of theory development of funding social, affordable, and public housing were identified. The Scopus scientometric database analysis showed that the theory of funding social, affordable, and public housing is at the stage of formation and rapid development – about 60–70 % of the total number of publications for the period from 1948 to 2020 (for more than 70 years) were published in the last 10 years (and about 30–40 % – in the last 5 years). The total trend of number of articles dynamics about funding social, affordable, and public housing indexed in Scopus database in 1990-2020 was built. The accent was put on some significant increase peaks of publishing activity during investigated period connected with the economic and financial crisis in 2007, currency fluctuations, the COVID-19 crisis, etc. The structural and functional clustering of the development of the theory of funding social housing was carried out considering connection of sociological and economic research. The received conclusions can be useful for scholars in socioeconomics, public and private investors in social and affordable housing.

Today’s rising housing prices in most countries worldwide have caused increasable attention to the problem of affordable housing. It is a social or ethical issue and an essential economic direction. Thus, affordable housing has great potential, influencing economic growth, labor forces, innovation, sustainable development, and an inclusive economy. Systematization of informational sources, theoretical and practical approaches for providing affordable housing, and assessing social housing needs indicated many views on this problem among scholars and policymakers. That is why marketing, management, and financial providing of affordable housing are significant mainstreams. The research aims to investigate marketing and management fundamentals of providing affordable housing in connection with funding aspects based on cross-country analysis. For achieving this target, key trends of housing market segmentation were analyzed, considering the distribution of the population by tenure status and analytical house price indicators using the data of the statistical office of the EU, the World Bank, and the OECD. The ways to promote more affordable housing by public and local authorities, private investors in affordable housing, and specific social and affordable housing market organizations were described. Main organizational forms of providing affordable and social housing were also characterized. Particular attention was paid to strategic planning for affordable and social housing, especially housing business plans or affordable housing strategy development as a priority step in marketing, management, and financial providing affordable housing. A SWOT analysis for affordable housing developments was used to show strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the affordable housing market. To empirically confirm some relevant strengths, the impact of indicators of financial providing of affordable housing was formalized based on correlation analysis (calculating Pearson or Spearman correlation coefficients with time lags based on results of Shapiro-Wilk testing) and construction of Arellano–Bond linear dynamic panel-data regression model with checking the Sargan test of overidentifying restrictions (the sample from 25 EU countries for 2011–2019) using the Excel 2010 and STATA 14.2 software. The dynamic model made it possible to consider the share of affordable housing owners with mortgage or loan or the share of tenants, rent affordable housing at a reduced price or free. The value of GDP of the previous period affects the current situation (due to introducing lag variables and using instrumental variables or the generalized method of moments (GMM) to obtain adequate estimates). The hypothesis that an increase of 1% of the share of affordable housing owners with mortgage or loan causes the rise in GDP per capita of an average of 0.44% with a two-year time lag was empirically confirmed. An increase of 1% of the share of tenants, rent-free housing or affordable housing at the reduced price, causes the decrease of GDP per capita of an average of 0.5% with a two-year time lag. It was substantiated that governments should continue and improve their policies for financing social and affordable housing. At the same time, they should prefer affordable mortgage lending programs over programs of reduced or free rental housing. The results of this research confirm the significant drivers of policies and practices devoted to affordable and social housing, such as marketing, management, and financial providing. The presented recommendations are useful for scholars interested in this scientific field of research, public and local authorities, investors in affordable housing, and specific affordable and social housing organizations.

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue of social housing, existing ethical dilemmas, and business development. The main purpose of the research is to investigate the interest level and popularity dynamics of social and affordable housing in the world in general and in OECD countries. The systematization of literary sources and approaches for solving the problem of ethical and economical aspects of social and affordable housing indicates that there is no single point of view on this issue among scientists. That is why the essence of the concepts of social, affordable, and public housing needs to be clarified considering existing differences. Besides it, comparative analysis of the results of analytical analysis of the interest level and popularity dynamics of social and affordable housing based on Google Trends tools and the results of statistical analysis in this context has not been conducted yet. Investigation of the topic about popularity dynamics of social and affordable housing emphasizing ethical needs and expected business benefits in the paper is carried out in the following logical sequence: systematization and clarification theoretical approaches to determine the essence and the difference between social, public and affordable housing; description of dominant types of funding social and affordable housing; analytical analysis of popularity dynamics of social and affordable housing with the determination of key value picks; statistical analysis of certain social housing indicators; comparing the results and making conclusions. Methodological tools of the research methods were logical generalization and scientific abstraction, statistical and structural analysis, comparative, and graphical analysis using the Excel software. Analytical analysis was realized based on Google Trends tools. The objects of research were the search requests about social, public, and affordable housing in the world in 2004-2021, and the indicators of social housing from the sample of OECD countries and other EU countries (limit in 2018 due to the availability of information on open information portals of The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). The paper presents the results of analytical, statistical, and comparative analysis of the level of interest (popularity) and development of social and affordable housing. The recommendations according to the coexistence of ethical and entrepreneurial principles can be useful for public and private investors in social and affordable housing.