Home-ownership in East and South East Asia : market, state and institutions
Abstract
This chapter explores home-ownership as a focal point of both household investment and government social and economic policy in South East and East Asia. It focuses particularly on the six nations/city states of Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea and Hong Kong to draw out the different forms and trajectories of home-ownership in the region. The key local institutional arrangements are highlighted as are the exogenous economic effects of the recent Asian financial crisis, local institutional arrangements and the development of contemporary forms of home-ownership. The next section offers an overview of the development of home-ownership. This is then followed by a case-by-case account of the key features of the various housing systems and an assessment of the specific impact of the economic downturn of the late 1990s on the respective housing systems. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the reshaping of these housing systems in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis and a more general consideration of the position and development of home-ownership in the region.
