An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Prefabrication Incentive Policies in China

Jiang Jiang,Antwi-Afari Antwi-Afari,Fei Fei,Luo Luo,Yu Yu,Wu Wu

doi:10.3390/su11195149

Jiang Jiang, Antwi-Afari Antwi-Afari + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195149

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Abstract

Prefabrication is a technology that can reduce the material consumption during the construction process. Thus, it is regarded as a technology that be of assistance in the pursuit of sustainable development in the construction industry. In China, a series of policies has been formulated to promote the implementation of prefabrication; however, the effectiveness of these policies has not been investigated. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the current prefabrication incentive policies in China. To achieve this research aim, a policy framework was first developed in order to understand the existing policies. Then, four indicators—namely, the number of prefabricated component production enterprises, the prefabricated floor area, the prefabricated building market size, and the expected prefabricated building area ratio—were selected to evaluate each policy’s effectiveness. It was found that the growth rates of these four indicators had increased slowly, and had even shown declining trends before 2015; however, with the incentive policies promulgated after 2015, the growth rates have increased. This study is of value not only in helping readers to understand the existing framework of incentive policies in China, but also in revealing the effectiveness of the identified prefabrication incentive policies. These research findings can also provide insights useful for policy formulation in other jurisdictions for the promotion of prefabrication.

Highlights

Prefabrication refers to a manufacturing process taking place in a specific and controlled environment, in which various materials are formed into a component and subsequently installed [1,2,3]
Comparing the proportion of the same policy used in different areas, the primary promotion area accounts for the largest proportion in fund support (22%), followed by floor area reward (16%), loan support (13%), and mandatory policy (4%); the positive promotion area accounts for the largest proportion in tax privilege (22%), followed by land supply (16%); and the encouraging promotion area accounts for the largest proportion in non-economic incentives (30%), loan support (13%), and mandatory policy (4%)
In addition to the economic incentives, non-economic incentives should be considered in order to motivate stakeholders to adopt prefabrication [30]

Summary

Introduction

Prefabrication refers to a manufacturing process taking place in a specific and controlled environment, in which various materials are formed into a component and subsequently installed [1,2,3]. Prefabrication is considered an important solution for environmental construction and industrial construction in many countries and regions. To motivate stakeholders to adopt the construction technology of prefabrication, governments in different countries have promulgated a series of policies. Some developed countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, etc., began to strengthen the development of prefabrication after the Second World War, due to severe shortages of residential buildings and in the labor force, and they have since developed a complete policy system [7]. The Chinese government has put forward a series of policies for developing prefabrication over the course of decades, the implementation of prefabrication in China is still lagging [9]

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