The redistributive effect of public housing in Hong Kong

Research output: Journal PublicationsJournal Article (refereed)peer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Public housing programmes in Hong Kong affect half of the population directly and the other half indirectly. This paper assesses the redistributive effect of public rental housing on income distribution. It uses a subsidised-to-market rent ratio method and an imputed rent method to convert transfer-in-kind of public rental housing into equivalent monetary value. Empirical results show that the provision of public housing alleviates the income inequality problem. However, the amount of public expenditure required achieving the same improvements in Gini coefficient and other inequality measures is small relative to the actual public expenditure on housing. Policy-makers should thoroughly review the existing public housing programmes
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1937-1952
Number of pages16
JournalUrban Studies: An International Journal of Research in Urban Studies
Volume44
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sept 2007

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