An analysis of the relationship between the housing reform programme and housing industry development in China

摘要

The purpose of this study was to establish a common understanding of the implementation of urban housing reform in China and to examine the trends in housing development in China and its relationship with the national economy. The crucial role of the Chinese government in the development of housing, the necessity of government intervention in China and whether it should be involved in housing development at all, were also explored in this study. In order to achieve the aims and objectives of this study, it was necessary to analyse the success and failure of the urban housing reform implemented in a particular period in China, and to investigate the challenges and problems existing in housing development. As regards the significant contribution of the housing development to the national economy, Rostow’s stages of economic growth were used to investigate the relationship between the housing industry and the national economy in China. This model shows that the housing industry could become a leading sector in the Chinese national economy. The housing industry in China has not yet reached maturity, and direct regulation by government is still necessary. In an attempt to address the research problem and to fulfil the research objectives, an in-depth and comprehensive literature study was undertaken to provide a basic framework and conceptualization of the housing industry in China. The international scope of the findings, as well as the insights that were gained through the study, contributed largely to solving the identified research problems. The normative and positive nature of the study made it possible to recommend solutions for the problems in the development of housing in China. iv Recommendations were made with regard to sustainable and healthy strategies, regulatory instruments, housing finance, and the utilization of lightweight materials in housing development in China. Although Rostow’s model is one of the more structuralist models of economic growth, it de-emphasizes any differences in how leading sectors develop in free and controlled markets. However, Rostow’s consideration of non-western cases such as China show that, to some extent, modernization can be achieved in different ways, through a free market or controlled economic means, and still fit into his model.