Housing of Limited Property Rights: A Paradox Inside and Outside Chinese Cities

This paper develops a prototypal theoretical framework for analyzing property inalienability and applies it to housing of limited property rights in China, which includes so-called ‘small-property-rights housing’ in the countryside (SLPR housing) and the affordable housing programme in the city (ALPR housing). The integrated analysis of ALPR and SLPR housing focuses on inalienability restrictions to ownership entitlement. By preserving current property use, inalienability can address externality, public good and even macro-economic problems that arise from property sales. Both ALPR and SLPR provide good empirical support for the theoretical hypotheses. Moreover, they demonstrate some important functions of inalienability in a transitional economy, including helping to maintain macro stability as well as being an important tool for implementing partial reform strategy. Inalienability is also a second-best tool to protect private property rights against the intervention of local political forces. However, various problems with ALPR and SLPR housing show that inalienability is also a rough tool that needs to be improved or replaced in order to achieve micro-economic efficiency.     

Housing Inequality and Social Class in Europe

On the basis of European Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data, this paper conducts a comparative analysis of housing conditions in different European countries by focusing on social class. The variance in housing conditions by social class could provide further insights about the divergence/convergence hypotheses stemming from the comparative analysis of living conditions of European countries. To support this claim, two main dimensions of housing inequality will be identified: tenure and housing well-being. A micro-level data analysis was performed, in order to take account of individual and family costs of access and maintenance of ownership in settings and in periods (such as the present day) of rising housing prices and income resources that decrease in terms of amount and stability. The aim is thus to demonstrate that, despite the difference in well-being in Europe between owners and non-owners (on the average the firsts are better off), homeowners cannot be regarded as a privileged category per se.     

Housing Policy,Housing Assistance and the Wellbeing Dividend: Developing an Evidence Base for Post-GFC Economies

This paper discusses the recent evolution, at a time of turmoil within global financial markets, of Australia's housing system and considers the effectiveness of housing assistance responses formulated to assist lo- income Australians. Following the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), housing was recast in the public and political consciousness and received substantial policy attention. In this era of rapidly declining housing affordability as well as threats to the supply of housing finance, the Australian Government renewed its approach to housing assistance. The paper examines housing assistance in Australia and assesses individual outcomes in terms of a ‘wellbeing dividend’. It draws upon on a survey of 1700 low-income households to examine individual outcomes for health and wellbeing across three of Australia's major forms of housing assistance. The research clearly shows that while housing assistance makes a positive contribution to wellbeing, not all forms of assistance are equal.     

住房制度变迁驱动下的中国城市住区空间演化

自改革开放以来,中国的城市住区建设被纳入到改革发展的宏观制度环境当中,住房政策经历了一系列重要的调整和变革。受社会制度背景和住房政策影响,中国的住区空间发展也经历了福利制均质单位空间、市场化住区分异和保障制度影响下住区空间等不同阶段。而当前住房保障制度影响下的住区空间发展也面临着新的问题和矛盾。旨在通过对各个时期社会背景和政策制度作用下的城市住区空间回顾及对当前住区问题分析,探讨现阶段中国住区空间发展问题的解决思路。     

Housing careers,intergenerational support and family relations

Abstract

The home and family have always been mutually embedded, with the former central to the realization and reproduction of the latter. More recently, this mutuality has taken on a more critical salience as realignments in housing markets, employment and welfare states in many countries have worked together to undermine housing access for new households. In this context, families have become increasingly involved in smoothening the routes of young adults members up the ‘housing ladder’ into home ownership. Intergenerational support appears to have become much more widespread and not just confined to familialistic welfare regimes. The role of intergenerational support for housing remains, however, highly differentiated across countries, cities and regions, as well as uneven between social and income classes. This introduction to the Special Issue explores how the role of housing wealth transfers has impacted the renegotiation of the generational contract. In doing so, it sets the scene for the articles that follow, each of which contribute significantly to advancing understanding of housing as a key driver of contemporary social relations and inequalities.     

Income Differentials and Housing Costs in Cities and Suburban Areas

Abstract

The first part of this paper examines housing expenditure and income variations in Australia's mainland capital cities. Housing costs are then related to spatial variations in average household income within the Perth metropolitan area using data from the 1986 census.     

Favoured Owners,Neglected Tenants: Privatisation of State Owned Housing in Hanoi

This paper presents selected findings from the project ‘Privatisation of public housing in Hanoi, the impacts on housing quality and social equality’ which was financed by the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA). The project analyses the consequences of privatisation on the housing conditions of those tenants and owners who live in privatised and partly privatised multi-family apartment buildings. This paper focuses on the consequences of privatisation on the housing and living conditions of tenants compared to those of owners, and presents findings. The paper concludes that privatisation actually helps to strengthen the existing inequity between different social groups, in the sense that the privatisation policy supports senior government officials, many of whom are well situated both financially and socially, and ignores poor and low-income households. Privatisation also contributes to enhancing the inequality between better-off housing areas and poorer ones. Mixed ownership, and the lack of regulations about the duties and rights of owners and tenants after privatisation, also lead to serious degradation of common areas in all residential blocks.     

Housing Tenure Preferences in the Post-privatisation Period: The Case of Slovenia

The privatisation of social housing transformed many transitional countries in Central and Eastern Europe into societies with predominant homeownership and a marginalised rental sector. The case of Slovenia shows that, despite a low level of government support of homeowners, the homeownership rate has remained at its unsustainably high level and households continue to express strong preferences for homeownership. The paper explores factors explaining current homeownership preferences in Slovenia. A comprehensive model of housing preferences is built. The model follows the proposition that tenure preferences are strongly influenced by general cultural norms and factors characterising the social, economic and political environments. The model is tested using structural equation modelling based on a survey of Slovenian households. The results reveal that the strong preferences for homeownership in Slovenia can be explained by the firm perceptions of the financial advantages of homeownership and by the lack of available rental alternatives.     

住房消费中住房公积金的贡献度——以典型城市为例的实证研究

住房公积金制度是我国政策性住房金融体系的核心,先后经历了支持住房建设、支持住房需求和制度完善等三个阶段,成为城镇职工住房保障体系的重要组成部分.本文试图对公积金的住房保障功能进行定量测度,建立了住房公积金的住房消费贡献度模型,并以上海、杭州、湖州、常州和重庆等典型城市2006年度的市场统计数据为基础,对这些城市住房消费中住房公积金的贷款贡献度、还款贡献度、利息节省率和家庭月收入还贷率进行了测算和比较,分析了它们与房价、家庭收入、公积金缴存比例和贷款最高限额等因素的关系,并据此提出了建立公积金政策与房价、家庭收入水平联动机制,中央与地方共同确定公积金贷款与商业贷款利差,严控公积金月缴存额上下限等政策建议.     

Development Pathways of Large Housing Estates in Post-socialist Cities: An International Comparison

Large housing estates in former state-socialist countries had been hardly affected by social erosion before the political changes. However, the emergence of new, capitalist forms of housing after 1990 started to endanger the position of large housing estates on the local housing market. The question was repeatedly raised in the literature about whether large housing estates of post-socialist cities would experience physical decay and social downgrading similar to the West. This paper investigates the socio-economic differentiation of large housing estates in the former state-socialist countries using a case study approach. Housing satisfaction and mobility of residents in four post-socialist housing estates were analysed through a standardised household survey. Empirical data confirm that despite their similar physical appearance, the attitude of people towards large housing estates and their position on the local housing market vary significantly. The authors conclude that even though socialist large housing estates are affected by social downgrading, nevertheless they represent relative social stability and can offer affordable housing to people who are at the start of their housing career.     

Policy Review: Reforming Private Housing Finance: Evaluating the Achievements of the Clinton Administration

The financial infrastructure of guarantees, insurance and regulation that underpins US housing markets is an important federal policy tool. Historically, housing policy in the US has relied much more heavily on regulating private market actors to achieve public goals, than it has on direct expenditures. But the commonalities between the US and restructured welfare states such as the UK and Canada have become more striking in recent decades. Similar dilemmas face policy makers in many settings: if homeownership is to be the centerpiece of housing policy, how do we ensure it is affordable and sustainable for those once served by a larger social housing sector? If direct expenditures are to be cut back, with what do we replace them? The story of the Clinton administration's efforts to reform the US financial infrastructure illustrates how these dilemmas have been addressed (although obviously not resolved) in a specific instance.     

公共住宅——作为我国进城农民一种安置手段的思索

改革开放以来,农村剩余劳动力的大规模转移给城市带来了多方面的问题:除了与日俱增的就业压力外,农民进城后的安置问题也引起了越来越多的关注。借鉴西方和香港地区在公共住宅建设方面的历史经验和实践成果,探讨了公共住宅作为进城农民工一种安置手段和私人住宅市场的一种补充,在国内实施推行的必要性和基本思路。     

The Creation and Transfer of Housing Wealth: The Experience of Elderly New Zealanders

Issues of housing inequality among the elderly reflect their lifetime experience of the housing and labour markets. In retirement there are thus a range of households formed depending on whether they are asset and income rich or poor. The paper explores the experience of a sample of New Zealand households with respect to their level of accumulation and attitudes towards and practice of intergenerational transfers.     

Housing Migrant Workers in Rapidly Urbanizing Regions: A Study of the Chinese Model in Shenzhen

China has experienced a huge wave of rural to urban migration over the last 25 years; however, Chinese cities do not have the large-scale slum settlements found in other developing countries. Has China found a new way to solve the housing problems of migrants and the urban poor? This paper addresses this question and reports the findings of a recent research project carried out in Shenzhen City. In general, Chinese migrants are poor in comparison with official urban residents. The majority of them live in shared rooms or small apartments in the so-called urban villages. Housing poverty, especially overcrowding, is a serious problem. This paper also highlights the positive contributions made by urban villages and private landlords in housing the large number of migrants in cities.     

Fair Housing in the US and the UK

This paper examines the differences between fair housing law and practice in the US and the UK. Both nations have faced issues associated with the rapid growth of minority populations in urban centers and challenges associated with discrimination in housing. The paper finds that the US could learn from the UK experience with 'indirect discrimination' and the UK could learn from the US experience with testing for housing discrimination.     

江苏省沿江八市住宅需求差异分析

简述了江苏省沿江八市的概况,运用聚类分析方法对八个城市进行分类,收集八市的相关面板数据,构造住宅需求函数,对各类城市的住宅需求进行分析,并比较得出各类城市住宅需求的差异。     

Individual Development Accounts for Housing Policy: Analysis of Individual and Program Characteristics

Homeownership is a desirable goal for most Americans and is considered an integral part of the American Dream. Empirical studies indicate homeownership has many positive outcomes. However, homeownership is not prevalent among low-income populations. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are matched savings accounts designed to help the working poor save for a home or other assets. This paper examines the savings outcomes of IDA participants saving for a home in the American Dream Policy Demonstration, which was the first large-scale test of IDAs. Data were collected from 1997 to 2001 on 1176 participants saving to purchase a home. Results indicate that low-income IDA participants can successfully save when provided structured opportunities. This paper examines individual and program characteristics that are important to explaining saving behaviors. Implications for policy makers, program administrators, and future research are given.     

“新时代住宅”理念——德国住宅设计竞争历史经验的思考

本文从德国住宅设计竞争历史发展演进的经验中,寻求现代都市住宅设计思想的纵向规律。针对都市住宅设计与当前的一些时弊,以求得对“新时代住宅”理念基本内核的构成元素的完善。     

Housing Wealth and Housing Decisions in Old Age: Sale and Reversion

Population ageing brings new challenges to long-term household economic decisions. In the event of old-age dependency, housing assets become a key self-insurance device. However, little empirical evidence has been reported regarding an individual's expectations of having to use their housing wealth for such a purpose. This paper draws upon two complementary data sources to empirically examine: (1) the influence of housing assets on an individual's willingness-to-sell (WTS) their dwelling for care purposes, and (2) the willingness to take out a reverse mortgage contract loan in the event of old-age dependency. The paper's findings suggest that homeowners' WTS in old age is unaffected by their income or housing assets and is, rather, determined by socio-environmental housing characteristics and the individual's health and personal needs. Conversely, the study finds that the uptake of home reversion loans is largely dependent on income or education, but not on a household's housing assets.     

Housing Allowance and the Recipient's Homeownership: Evidence from a Panel Data Study in Sweden

This paper investigates whether housing allowance affects recipients' tenure choice in Sweden. To answer this question, a two-stage conditional maximum likelihood probit (2SCMLP) model is applied in a panel data setting to simultaneously control for individual heterogeneity, state dependence and endogeneity. The empirical study is based on administrative data of housing allowance recipients living in three major metropolitan areas of Sweden between the years 1994 and 2002. The results indicate that the housing allowance positively affects recipients' homeownership propensity in Sweden. Therefore the worry of a ‘rental trap’ is dismissed within the Swedish housing allowance system. Instead, we conclude that the Swedish housing allowance system is doing a fairly good job in supporting low-income households to obtain and maintain their homeownership. Furthermore, no evidence was found to indicate that the reform of the Swedish housing allowance system in 1996–97 essentially changed this fact.