An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Prefabrication Incentive Policies in China

Abstract

Prefabrication is a technology that can reduce the material consumption during the construction process. Thus, it is regarded as a technology that be of assistance in the pursuit of sustainable development in the construction industry. In China, a series of policies has been formulated to promote the implementation of prefabrication; however, the effectiveness of these policies has not been investigated. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of the current prefabrication incentive policies in China. To achieve this research aim, a policy framework was first developed in order to understand the existing policies. Then, four indicators—namely, the number of prefabricated component production enterprises, the prefabricated floor area, the prefabricated building market size, and the expected prefabricated building area ratio—were selected to evaluate each policy’s effectiveness. It was found that the growth rates of these four indicators had increased slowly, and had even shown declining trends before 2015; however, with the incentive policies promulgated after 2015, the growth rates have increased. This study is of value not only in helping readers to understand the existing framework of incentive policies in China, but also in revealing the effectiveness of the identified prefabrication incentive policies. These research findings can also provide insights useful for policy formulation in other jurisdictions for the promotion of prefabrication.

Mapping the dynamics of China’s prefabricated building policies from 1956 to 2019: a bibliometric analysis

“…Previous studies have concluded that the effectiveness of PBPs significantly affects the promotion and performance of PB (Mao et al, 2013;Park et al, 2011). However, the majority of the PB-related literature has neglected to investigate the formation and evolutionary processes of PBPs (Jiang et al, 2019). In this study, a bibliometric method was employed to identify the historical dynamics of China's PBP system.…”

“…Without these PBPs, PB cannot be rapidly promoted due to the current path dependence of cast-in-situ construction technologies and the lack of market share (Mao et al, 2016). However, with the rapid promulgation of PBPs has come recognition of the complexity of policy design and implementation, which poses a significant challenge to policymakers who must develop effective approaches to enhance the efficiency of relevant policies (Jiang et al, 2019).…”

“…Thus, it is clear that the promulgation of new PBPs may affect or be affected by existing PBPs. Given the complexity of those interactions, a clear understanding of the dynamics of PBPs is necessary to improve policy design (Jiang et al, 2019). First, knowledge related to shifts in the focus of PBPs can help policymakers identify which factors significantly affect PBPs development (Jiang et al, 2019).…”

“…Given the complexity of those interactions, a clear understanding of the dynamics of PBPs is necessary to improve policy design (Jiang et al, 2019). First, knowledge related to shifts in the focus of PBPs can help policymakers identify which factors significantly affect PBPs development (Jiang et al, 2019). By addressing these significant factors, effective measures can be taken to enhance the PBP system's performance.…”

Study on the operational efficiency of prefabricated building industry bases in Western China based on the DEA model

“…Z L Guo et al ( 2017 ) combined a rough set theory to redefine the factors that affect the risks associated with prefabricated housing (Guo et al 2017 ). Jiang (2019) selected four indicators, namely, the number of prefabricated component production enterprises, prefabricated building area, prefabricated building market size, and expected prefabricated building area ratio, to evaluate the effectiveness of a prefabricated building incentive policy (Jiang et al 2019b ). Pan (2020) combined the results of a questionnaire survey and those of related literature identified 10 influencing factors that hindered the implementation of prefabricated buildings in China, and used the ISM method to construct a multi-level hierarchical structure model of influencing factors.…”