Government land ownership and public housing: the experiences of Hong Kong and China

Abstract

Should the majority of the land stock be owned by the government, what would happen if there is a soaring demand on housing? Experience in Hong Kong shows that (a) high land and housing prices would be resulted; and (b) public rental housing were forced to be built to meet the political demands from the poor. This paper compares the striking similarities between the experience of Colonial Hong Kong and recent trends in mainland China. Despite contrasting political systems, and this paper tries to (a) explain the emergence of public housing by means of government ownership of land, rapid urbanization, and soaring house prices; and (b) investigate if the public housing sector in China will grow into an enormous proportion like that of Hong Kong.