Redistribution, Growth, and Inclusion: The Development of the Urban Housing System in China, 1949-2015

Wenjing Deng,Marja Elsinga,Joris Hoekstra

doi:10.4236/cus.2017.54024

Abstract

This paper explains the development of the urban housing system in China from 1949 to 2011 with an emphasis on the factors driving housing inequality in each policy period. We argue that the logic underpinning the housing policy had shifted from socialist redistribution to the stimulation of growth in the process of market economy reform and has been shifting toward social inclusionary growth since the 2010s. Over the course of time, two institutional factors (work units and household registration/hukou) have played a key role in determining individual households’ housing opportunities. The role of the work units has gradually waned since the 2000s, but the hukou system continues to be important. In the last part of the paper, we set forth the latest changes in Chinese housing policy. Since 2011, the central government has been striving toward a more comprehensive system of housing provision with the aim of making the housing market more inclusive (though not necessarily more equal). Finally, we express concern about an emerging though embedded source of housing inequality: the unequal distribution of family wealth.

Highlights

The People’s Republic of China was established in 1949 and has since undergone enormous institutional changes
We argue that the logic underpinning the housing policy had shifted from socialist redistribution to the stimulation of growth in the process of market economy reform and has been shifting toward social inclusionary growth since the 2010s
The aim of this paper is to describe the relation between the urban housing system and social structure against the backdrop of transition in China

Summary

Introduction

The People’s Republic of China was established in 1949 and has since undergone enormous institutional changes. Economic growth would get a boost from market forces and non-public organizations without undermining the legitimacy of socialist leadership. Throughout this transition, China applied a gradual and incremental dual-track approach. The research question is: How has the provision of urban housing in China changed in the transition period in line with two institutional shifts (with regard to the role of the work units and the hukou registration), and how has this influenced housing opportunity?. We analyze recent developments in housing policy We tie these to the changes in the social-economic context that have precipitated them. We draw attention to an emergent though embedded source of housing inequality: the unequal distribution of family wealth

Redistributive Mechanisms and the Role of the Work Units

From Redistribution to Growth

Housing Subsidy

Findings

Conclusion