From welfare housing to home ownership: The dilemma of China's housing reform

Abstract

While the Chinese housing reform programme has been rigorously implemented along the direction of marketization and commodification, this paper argues that the reform process has generally neglected its impact on issues such as inequality and distributive justice. Other than its apparent effects on housing production and the improvement of the living condition within some big cities, this paper questions both the underlying values of some of those newly created housing reform institutions such as the Housing Provident Fund and the housing monetarisation policy. It is argued that China is now facing a similar dilemma as with many other Western countries on the question: how much the state should collectively provide housing and how much individuals should be responsible for themselves. It is further suggested that since the reform process is implemented from top-down directives, it often generates a far-reaching impact on the distributional front and, without the right values and corrective measures, social exclusions for vulnerable housing groups are bound to occur, notwithstanding that China is still one of the largest remaining socialist countries.