Housing Policies and the Little Tigers: How Do They Compare with Other Industrialised Countries?

Abstract

Abstract This paper locates the housing policies of the little tiger countries-Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan-in the policy regimes approach found in the literature dealing with other industrialised countries. It begins by establishing three regime types-liberal, communist and corporatist-describing different balances of market and state in the development, construction and consumption phases of housing provision. Building on a discussion of the general approach in the little tiger countries to economic and social policy, and particularly of the nature and extent of state intervention in their housing policies, it proposes that together they represent a fourth regime type, one that can be characterised as corporatist in production and liberal in consumption.