IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/urbstu/v53y2016i5p957-977.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The heterogeneity of housing-tenure choice in urban China: A case study based in Guangzhou

Author

Listed:
  • Guo Chen

Abstract

This paper investigates the heterogeneity of housing-tenure choice in the city of Guangzhou based on a household survey. Using methods of finite mixture regression, we identified three groups with distinct housing-tenure choice subprocesses, which we labelled as the ‘urban elites’, the ‘native plebeians’ and the ‘lower masses’, accordingly. The urban elites group includes affluent local urban residents, migrants from other cities and privileged citizens such as state employees and Communist Party members. Housing-tenure choice among the urban elites positively correlates with marital status, age and education. The native plebeians group is comprised of less affluent local residents, including those with rural Hukou status. They have the highest homeownership rate among the three groups and their housing-tenure choice positively correlates with household size and income. The majority of the lower masses are migrants from rural areas. They are mostly renters, although household size was found to be a significant predictor of homeownership. Institutional factors such as Hukou status, Party membership and state employment affect tenure outcomes for both the urban elites and the lower masses, but not for the native plebeians. These findings show the correspondence between housing-tenure choice subprocesses and socioeconomic differentiation, and suggest a need to create housing policies tailored for specific housing groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Guo Chen, 2016. "The heterogeneity of housing-tenure choice in urban China: A case study based in Guangzhou," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 53(5), pages 957-977, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:53:y:2016:i:5:p:957-977
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098015571822
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098015571822
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0042098015571822?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Weiping Wu, 2004. "Sources of Migrant Housing Disadvantage in Urban China," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(7), pages 1285-1304, July.
    2. Youqin Huang, 2004. "The road to homeownership: a longitudinal analysis of tenure transition in urban China (1949–94)," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 774-795, December.
    3. Smith, Lawrence B & Rosen, Kenneth T & Fallis, George, 1988. "Recent Developments in Economic Models of Housing Markets," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 26(1), pages 29-64, March.
    4. Li Gan & Zhichao Yin & Nan Jia & Shu Xu & Shuang Ma & Lu Zheng, 2014. "Data you need to know about China," Springer Books, Springer, edition 127, number 978-3-642-38151-5, September.
    5. John R. Logan & Yiping Fang & Zhanxin Zhang, 2009. "Access to Housing in Urban China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 914-935, December.
    6. Henderson, J Vernon & Ioannides, Yannis M, 1983. "A Model of Housing Tenure Choice," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(1), pages 98-113, March.
    7. Marcy Burchfield & Henry G. Overman & Diego Puga & Matthew A. Turner, 2006. "Causes of Sprawl: A Portrait from Space," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 121(2), pages 587-633.
    8. Ya Ping Wang & Alan Murie, 2000. "Social and Spatial Implications of Housing Reform in China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 397-417, June.
    9. Ya Wang & Lei Shao & Alan Murie & Jianhua Cheng, 2012. "The Maturation of the Neo-liberal Housing Market in Urban China," Housing Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 343-359.
    10. Tolley, G.S., 1991. "Urban Housing Reform in China," World Bank - Discussion Papers 123, World Bank.
    11. John R. Logan & Yanjie Bian & Fuqin Bian, 1999. "Housing inequality in urban China in the 1990s," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 23(1), pages 7-25, March.
    12. Artle, Roland & Varaiya, Pravin, 1978. "Life cycle consumption and homeownership," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 38-58, June.
    13. Li, Mingche M, 1977. "A Logit Model of Homeownership," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 45(5), pages 1081-1097, July.
    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. Siliang Wang & Conghui Cheng & Shukui Tan, 2019. "Housing Determinants of Health in Urban China: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 1245-1270, June.

    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. Jacob L. Vigdor, 2004. "Liquidity Constraints and Housing Prices: Theory and Evidence from the VA Mortgage," NBER Working Papers 10611, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Fulong Wu, 2009. "Land Development, Inequality and Urban Villages in China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 885-889, December.
    3. Isaac F. Megbolugbe & Peter D. Linneman, 1993. "Home Ownership," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 30(4-5), pages 659-682, May.
    4. Eddie Chi Man Hui & Ka Hung Yu & Yinchuan Ye, 2014. "Housing Preferences of Temporary Migrants in Urban China in the wake of Gradual Hukou Reform: A Case Study of Shenzhen," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1384-1398, July.
    5. Mujun Zhou, 2014. "Debating the State in Private Housing Neighborhoods: The Governance of Homeowners' Associations in Urban Shanghai," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(5), pages 1849-1866, September.
    6. Vigdor, Jacob L., 2006. "Liquidity constraints and housing prices: Theory and evidence from the VA Mortgage Program," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(8-9), pages 1579-1600, September.
    7. Yafei Liu & Martin Dijst & Stan Geertman & Can Cui, 2017. "Social Sustainability in an Ageing Chinese Society: Towards an Integrative Conceptual Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-15, April.
    8. Arrondel, Luc & Lefebvre, Bruno, 2001. "Consumption and Investment Motives in Housing Wealth Accumulation: A French Study," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 112-137, July.
    9. Tsz-ming Or, 2018. "Pathways to homeownership among young professionals in urban China: The role of family resources," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 55(11), pages 2391-2407, August.
    10. Youqin Huang & Leiwen Jiang, 2009. "Housing Inequality in Transitional Beijing," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 936-956, December.
    11. Harold W. Elder & Leonard V. Zumpano, 1991. "Tenure Choice, Housing Demand, and Residential Location," Journal of Real Estate Research, American Real Estate Society, vol. 6(3), pages 341-356.
    12. Coulson, N. Edward & Tang, Mingzhe, 2013. "Institutional and demographic influences on the presence, scale and geographic scope of individual Chinese real estate investment," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 187-196.
    13. Youqin Huang & William A. V. Clark, 2002. "Housing Tenure Choice in Transitional Urban China: A Multilevel Analysis," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 39(1), pages 7-32, January.
    14. Luc Arrondel & André Masson, 1989. "Déterminants individuels de la composition du patrimoine : France 1980," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 40(3), pages 441-502.
    15. Serena Trucchi, 2011. "How credit markets affect homeownership: an explanation based on differences between Italian regions," CeRP Working Papers 122, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    16. Engelhardt, Gary V. & Mayer, Christopher J., 1998. "Intergenerational Transfers, Borrowing Constraints, and Saving Behavior: Evidence from the Housing Market," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 135-157, July.
    17. Hochguertel, Stefan & van Soest, Arthur, 2001. "The Relation between Financial and Housing Wealth: Evidence from Dutch Households," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 374-403, March.
    18. Tingzhu Li & Ran Liu & Wei Qi, 2019. "Regional Heterogeneity of Migrant Rent Affordability Stress in Urban China: A Comparison between Skilled and Unskilled Migrants at Prefecture Level and Above," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-26, October.
    19. Min Zhou & Wei Guo, 2023. "Self-rated Health and Objective Health Status Among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China: A Healthy Housing Perspective," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(1), pages 1-24, February.
    20. Li, Han & Wei, Yehua Dennis & Wu, Yangyi, 2019. "Analyzing the private rental housing market in Shanghai with open data," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 271-284.

    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:sae:urbstu:v:53:y:2016:i:5:p:957-977. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/urbanstudiesjournal .

    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.