The paper seeks to address the question of the distributive equity of Hong Kong's public housing programme. While the rather complicated requirements for admission and the multitude of purposes the programme serves result to a certain extent in an inequitable distribution of housing benefits, the programme's overall impact on the distribution of income appears favourable. Computation of the Gini coefficient based on the 1976, 1981 and 1986 censuses shows that this favourable effect is becoming more apparent over time. The provision of housing benefits may not be the most efficient method of redistributing income, but this must be weighed against such considerations as social stability, neighbourhood viability and the desirability of spatial segregation.
Public housing is an important source of accommodation in Hong Kong. Subsidies to public housing are tied to the consumption of housing services. Consumer's consumption pattern will therefore be distorted, and a welfare loss incurred as compared to an equivalent cash transfer. This paper seeks to measure the extent to which tenants' benefit from public housing subsidies. A measure of net tenant benefit is used, which is based upon the Marshallian consumer surplus concept. The results indicate that Hong Kong's public housing programme has had a significant impact upon households' consumption patterns, and that the welfare loss is relatively low.
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