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The Redistributive Effect of Public Housing in Hong Kong

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  • Hon-Kwong Lui

    (Department of Marketing and International Business, Lingnan University, 8 Castle Peak Road, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong, hklui@ln.edu.hk)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Hon-Kwong Lui, 2007. "The Redistributive Effect of Public Housing in Hong Kong," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 44(10), pages 1937-1952, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:44:y:2007:i:10:p:1937-1952
    DOI: 10.1080/00420980701471919
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    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. 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.
    3. Mary Schooling, C. & Lau, Elaine W.L. & Tin, Keith Y.K. & Leung, Gabriel M., 2010. "Social disparities and cause-specific mortality during economic development," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(10), pages 1550-1557, May.
    4. Jennifer Buurma-Olsen & Jort Sinninghe Damsté, 2023. "Quantifying Misallocation of Public Housing," CPB Discussion Paper 454, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    5. Jens Kandt & Shu-Sen Chang & Paul Yip & Ricky Burdett, 2017. "The spatial pattern of premature mortality in Hong Kong: How does it relate to public housing?," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 54(5), pages 1211-1234, April.

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