IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jhouse/v20y2011i1p15-29.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of public housing on internal mobility in Hong Kong

Author

Listed:
  • Lui, Hon-Kwong
  • Suen, Wing

Abstract

The rationing of public housing reduces the efficiency of the match between public housing units and their occupants, as competing users cannot effectively convey their preferences through a price mechanism. This study investigates the costs of public housing from the perspective of the misallocation of housing units to households and examines how this misallocation affects their lives. We show that public housing occupants are less mobile than private housing occupants, but conditional on moving, they are more likely to relocate farther away from their original place of residence. They are also less likely to work in the same place as they live.

Suggested Citation

  • Lui, Hon-Kwong & Suen, Wing, 2011. "The effects of public housing on internal mobility in Hong Kong," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 15-29, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:20:y:2011:i:1:p:15-29
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1051-1377(10)00047-1
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Barzel, Yoram, 1974. "A Theory of Rationing by Waiting," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 73-95, April.
    2. Jakob Roland Munch & Michael Rosholm & Michael Svarer, 2006. "Are Homeowners Really More Unemployed?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 116(514), pages 991-1013, October.
    3. Harminder Battu & Ada Ma & Euan Phimister, 2008. "Housing Tenure, Job Mobility and Unemployment in the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(527), pages 311-328, March.
    4. Cheung, Steven N S, 1974. "A Theory of Price Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 53-71, April.
    5. Edward L. Glaeser & Erzo F. P. Luttmer, 2003. "The Misallocation of Housing Under Rent Control," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1027-1046, September.
    6. Brigitte C. Madrian, 1994. "Employment-Based Health Insurance and Job Mobility: Is there Evidence of Job-Lock?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 27-54.
    7. Donna B. Gilleskie & Byron F. Lutz, 2002. "The Impact of Employer-Provided Health Insurance on Dynamic Employment Transitions," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 37(1), pages 129-162.
    8. Scott J. Adams, 2004. "Employer‐provided Health Insurance and Job Change," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 22(3), pages 357-369, July.
    9. Painter, Gary, 1997. "Does Variation in Public Housing Waiting Lists Induce Intra-Urban Mobility?," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 248-276, September.
    10. Martin L. Weitzman, 1977. "Is the Price System or Rationing More Effective in Getting a Commodity to Those Who Need It Most?," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 8(2), pages 517-524, Autumn.
    11. Munch, Jakob Roland & Rosholm, Michael & Svarer, Michael, 2008. "Home ownership, job duration, and wages," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(1), pages 130-145, January.
    12. Suen, Wing, 1989. "Rationing and Rent Dissipation in the Presence of Heterogeneous Individuals," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(6), pages 1384-1394, December.
    13. Quigley, John M., 2002. "A Decent Home: Housing Policy in Perspective," Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy, Working Paper Series qt8f57x42q, Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy.
    14. Deacon, Robert T & Sonstelie, Jon, 1991. "Price Controls and Rent Dissipation with Endogenous Transaction Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(5), pages 1361-1373, December.
    15. Wayne Simpson, 1987. "Workplace Location, Residential Location, and Urban Commuting," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 24(2), pages 119-128, April.
    16. Simpson, Wayne, 1980. "A simultaneous model of workplace and residential location incorporating job search," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 330-349, November.
    17. Dohmen, Thomas J., 2005. "Housing, mobility and unemployment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 305-325, May.
    18. R.W. Vickerman, 1984. "Urban and Regional Change, Migration and Commuting — The Dynamics of Workplace, Residence and Transport Choice," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 21(1), pages 15-29, February.
    19. Kan, Kamhon, 2003. "Residential mobility and job changes under uncertainty," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 566-586, November.
    20. Cynthia Bansak & Steven Raphael, 2008. "The State Children's Health Insurance Program and Job Mobility: Identifying Job Lock among Working Parents in Near-Poor Households," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(4), pages 564-579, July.
    21. Kan, Kamhon, 2000. "Dynamic Modeling of Housing Tenure Choice," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 46-69, July.
    22. Gordon Hughes & Barry McCormick, 1991. "Housing Markets, Unemployment and Labour Market Flexibility in the U.K," NBER Chapters, in: International Volatility and Economic Growth: The First Ten Years of The International Seminar on Macroeconomics, pages 83-114, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Jae Hong Kim & Francesca Pagliara & John Preston, 2005. "The Intention to Move and Residential Location Choice Behaviour," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(9), pages 1621-1636, August.
    24. Wong, Yue-Chim & Liu, Pak-Wai, 1988. "The distribution of benefits among public housing tenants in Hong Kong and related policy issues," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 1-20, January.
    25. Siegel, Jay, 1975. "Intrametropolitan migration: A simultaneous model of employment and residential location of white and black households," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 29-47, January.
    26. Deacon, Robert T & Sonstelie, Jon, 1989. "The Welfare Costs of Rationing by Waiting," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 27(2), pages 179-196, April.
    27. Jonathan Gruber & Brigitte C. Madrian, 1994. "Health Insurance and Job Mobility: The Effects of Public Policy on Job-Lock," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 48(1), pages 86-102, October.
    28. Judith D. Feins & Mark D. Shroder, 2005. "Moving to Opportunity: The Demonstration's Design and its Effects on Mobility," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(8), pages 1275-1299, July.
    29. Ludwig, Jens & Duncan, Greg J. & Pinkston, Joshua C., 2005. "Housing mobility programs and economic self-sufficiency: Evidence from a randomized experiment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 131-156, January.
    30. John F. Kain, 1968. "Housing Segregation, Negro Employment, and Metropolitan Decentralization," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 82(2), pages 175-197.
    31. Kan, Kamhon, 2002. "Residential mobility with job location uncertainty," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 501-523, November.
    32. Harry J. Holzer, 1991. "The Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis: What Has the Evidence Shown?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 28(1), pages 105-122, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ka Shing Cheung & Siu Kei Wong & Kwong Wing Chau & Chung Yim Yiu, 2021. "The Misallocation Problem of Subsidized Housing: A Lesson from Hong Kong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.
    2. Chenhong Peng & Paul S. F. Yip & Yik Wa Law, 2020. "What Factors Beyond Economic Poverty Lead People in High-income Societies to Feel Poor? Evidence from Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(3), pages 991-1027, December.
    3. Shao, Xiaokuai & White, Alexander, 2021. "Outsiders, insiders and interventions in the housing market," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 110-134.
    4. Gohl, Niklas, 2019. "House prices and spatial mobility: Lock-in effects on the German rental market," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203557, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Shuheng Jin & Tianzhu Nie & Ngai Pun & Duoduo Xu, 2022. "Spatial Mismatch, Different Labor Markets and Precarious Employment: The Case of Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 161(1), pages 51-73, May.
    6. Olsen, Edgar O. & Zabel, Jeffrey E., 2015. "US Housing Policy," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 887-986, Elsevier.
    7. Jionghua Wang & Bo Huang & Ting Zhang & Hung Wong & Yifan Huang, 2018. "Impact of Housing and Community Conditions on Multidimensional Health among Middle- and Low-Income Groups in Hong Kong," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, May.
    8. I-Chun Tsai, 2019. "Interregional correlations in the US housing market at three price tiers," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 63(1), pages 1-24, August.
    9. Eerola, Essi & Saarimaa, Tuukka, 2018. "Delivering affordable housing and neighborhood quality: A comparison of place- and tenant-based programs," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 44-54.
    10. Eerola, Essi & Saarimaa, Tuukka, 2015. "Who Benefits from Public Housing?," Working Papers 68, VATT Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Sha, Feng & Li, Bingyu & Guo, Yingqi & Law, Yik Wa & Yip, Paul S.F. & Zhang, Yi, 2020. "Effects of the Transport Support Scheme on employment and commuting patterns among public rental housing residents in Hong Kong," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 10-18.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fleck, Robert K., 2014. "Can prohibitions on “price gouging” reduce deadweight losses?," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 100-107.
    2. Edward L. Glaeser, 1996. "The Social Costs of Rent Control Revisted," Harvard Institute of Economic Research Working Papers 1747, Harvard - Institute of Economic Research.
    3. Robert W. Fairlie & Kanika Kapur & Susan Gates, 2016. "Job Lock: Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(1), pages 92-121, January.
    4. Scott Barkowski, 2020. "Does government health insurance reduce job lock and job push?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(1), pages 122-169, July.
    5. Edward L. Glaeser & Erzo F. P. Luttmer, 2003. "The Misallocation of Housing Under Rent Control," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1027-1046, September.
    6. Jae Hong Kim, 2014. "Residential and job mobility: Interregional variation and their interplay in US metropolitan areas," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(13), pages 2863-2879, October.
    7. Bradley T. Heim & Ithai Z. Lurie, 2015. "The Impact of Health Reform on Job Mobility: Evidence from Massachusetts," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 1(3), pages 374-398, Summer.
    8. Gulcin Gumus & Tracy Regan, 2007. "Self-Employment and the Role of Health Insurance," Working Papers 0910, University of Miami, Department of Economics.
    9. Christian A. L. Hilber & Teemu Lyytikäinen, 2012. "The Effect of the UK Stamp Duty Land Tax on Household Mobility," SERC Discussion Papers 0115, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    10. Vives Coscojuela, Cecilia, 2015. "Geographical mobility and the labour market," IKERLANAK 15485, Universidad del País Vasco - Departamento de Fundamentos del Análisis Económico I.
    11. Chatterji, Pinka & Brandon, Peter & Markowitz, Sara, 2016. "Job mobility among parents of children with chronic health conditions: Early effects of the 2010 Affordable Care Act," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 26-43.
    12. Stijn Baert & Freddy Heylen & Daan Isebaert, 2014. "Does Homeownership Lead to Longer Unemployment Spells? The Role of Mortgage Payments," De Economist, Springer, vol. 162(3), pages 263-286, September.
    13. Daniel C. Monchuk & Maureen Kilkenny & Euan Phimister, 2014. "Rural Homeownership and Labour Mobility in the United States," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(2), pages 350-362, February.
    14. Luttmer Erzo F.P., 2007. "Does the Minimum Wage Cause Inefficient Rationing?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 7(1), pages 1-42, October.
    15. Daan Isebaert & Freddy Heylen & Carine Smolders, 2015. "Houses and/or Jobs: Ownership and the Labour Market in Belgian Districts," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(8), pages 1387-1406, August.
    16. Andrea Morescalchi, 2021. "A new career in a new town. Job search methods and regional mobility of unemployed workers," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 20(2), pages 223-272, May.
    17. Vives Coscojuela, Cecilia, 2018. "Housing Tenure, Geographical Mobility and the Labour Market: the Role of the Employment Exit Rate," IKERLANAK 30207, Universidad del País Vasco - Departamento de Fundamentos del Análisis Económico I.
    18. Coulson, N. Edward & Fisher, Lynn M., 2009. "Housing tenure and labor market impacts: The search goes on," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 252-264, May.
    19. Farooq, Ammar & Kugler, Adriana, 2016. "Beyond Job Lock: Impacts of Public Health Insurance on Occupational and Industrial Mobility," IZA Discussion Papers 9832, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Gaetano Lisi, 2016. "Mortgage Market, Housing Tenure Choice and Unemployment," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 53(4), pages 472-493, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jhouse:v:20:y:2011:i:1:p:15-29. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622881 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.