Privatizing Public Housing in the Welfare Regime of a Tiger Economy: A Case Study of Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper aims to locate the experience of privatizing public housing in the welfare regime of a tiger economy; Hong Kong. This welfare regime type is perhaps encapsulated by its emphasis on economic growth and the provision of social infrastructure, but with little commitment to the idea of transfer payments. Although Hong Kong is a tiger economy, the most fruitful framework for assessing the privatization policy is the factors which explain the impact of privatizing public housing in the old industrialized countries (OICs): the nature of the privatization policies themselves; the economic circumstances within which they have been implemented; and the mediating influence of politics and ideology on trends to privatize public housing. This assessment suggests that privatizing public housing in the welfare regime of a tiger economy is quite distinct from the experience in OICs. To date, privatization has primarily taken the form of build-for-sale schemes. Public rental housing has remained the key focus o...