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Abstract
Western societies promote home ownership in the belief that it provides a means to build up individual welfare and security, potentially offsetting the inadequacy of social security to meet needs in retirement. Some East Asian economies have long focused on advancing ‘asset building’ through housing policy. These efforts have two purposes: to use housing investment to drive economic development and to build family assets throughout life as a component of income protection for old age. These purposes work well in some countries but not as well in others. In policy terms, the common element among them is that governments promote home ownership as a component of social policy or as a complement to mainstream welfare. This article examines how home ownership fares as a form of asset-based welfare in selected East Asian countries (Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan) and considers the implications for understanding the role of institutions in development.
西方社会提高自有住房，因为他们相信自有住房为建立个人福利和保障提供一种途径，可以抵消退休后社会保障的潜在不足。一些东亚经济体长期通过住房政策发展 “资产建设”，并努力达到两个目的：其一，通过住房投资刺激经济发展；其二，建设终身家庭财产，并将此作为老年收入保障的一部分。然而不是所有国家都能顺利达到这两个目的。从政策角度来讲，这两个目的都包含同一种成分，即政府提高自有住房，并将此作为社会政策的一部分或者福利政策的补充。本文探讨了自有住房作为基于资产的福利，在三个东亚国家（新加坡、香港和日本）是如何发展的；同时，本文思考了对理解机构发展的启示。