This dissertation is about the use of in-cash housing subsidy, in the form of housing voucher, to deliver housing welfare in Hong Kong. This type of subsidy is currently the major type of housing assistance implemented in the United States since 1970s for improving the deteriorating public housing stock as well as the concentrated poverty and racial segregated neighbourhoods developed in the public housing projects. As a foreign policy, the research has taken the academic approach of policy transfer to assess the possibility of importing this American programme for domestic use. Housing subsidies exist in two forms, namely supply side (producer-based, in-kind) subsidy or demand side (consumer-based, in-cash) subsidy. The former refers to the direct construction of social housing by the government or private sector project facilitated by the government via financial incentives, such as construction grants or tax concessions. Hong Kong public housing is using this kind of provision. As for demand side subsidy, the beneficiaries receive financial support from the government in order to enhance the recipients’ affordability in housing. As far as renting is concerned, such kind of consumer subsidy can be rental allowance payable in cash or housing voucher redeemable by the landlord. The American Housing Choice Voucher Program is a prominent example. In 2001, the Hong Kong Housing Authority has also implemented a trial policy on disseminating rental allowances to eligible elderly public housing tenants but was called off later. If the program worked satisfactorily, the government would consider extending this policy to ordinary applicants of public housing as well. In-kind housing welfare is provided through administrative assignment, the prospective tenants cannot choose which area to reside and their choices on housing units are very restrictive. Since housing location will influence a person’s access to job, education and other chances of life, consumer based housing subsidy allows beneficiary to exercise greater freedom of choice in housing. Policy transfer is about borrowing foreign policy tools or measures for domestic use to solve problems of similar nature. It is a process by which knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in one political system is used in the development of policies, administrative arrangements, institutions and ideas in another political system. In evaluating the implementation of housing voucher in Hong Kong, this dissertation using policy transfer theorists’ multi-level approach in evaluating the macro and micro settings of the policy framework. The macro level will look upon the political, social and economic contexts between U.S. and Hong Kong that embed public housing policy, while the micro level is an examination of the responses of selected actors in policy transfer that facilitate or hinder the transfer. Upon the research findings, both the macro and micro level analyses lead to the conclusion that the transferability of housing voucher system in Hong Kong is relatively low. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

Hong Kong Public Housing Program was initiated by a disastrous fire sixty years ago which made thousands people lose their shelter. Public rental housing (PRH) was built to provide affordable accommodation to people who are in housing need, such as the victims of disaster, low income families, etc. The financial situation of some PRH households had been improved after receiving years of housing subsidy by residing in PRH, which is heavily subsidized by the Government. They had affordability in finding a home in private sector, but they chose to stay in PRH and continued to receive housing subsidy, which they should not entitled. This phenomenon aroused widespread public concern in 1980s. After conducting public consultation in 1984-85, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) finally implemented the Housing Subsidy Policy (HSP) in April 1987 to reduce the housing subsidy to those who are no longer in need of it. Under the HSP, tenants who have resided in public housing for 10 years or more are required to declare their household income. Households with income exceeding the Subsidy Income Limits (SIL) are required to pay double net rent plus rates. The policy was reviewed after implemented for five years. Responding to PRH’s opinion on the policy, the policy was revised in 1993.Under the new measure, households with income between two to three times of the WLIL would be charged 1.5 times rent. Tenants, with income exceeds 3 times of the WLIL would have to pay double rent. Although HKHA did not adopted the method of eviction to force the well–off tenants to move out from the PRH, the ultimate aim of HSP was to vacate the flats resided by them. Instead of taking enforcement action, a moderate method of reducing subsidy and encouragement of home ownership was adopted to encourage well-off PRH tenants to surrender their PRH units, so that they can be re-allocated to the people who had genuine housing need. With a moderate approach, the effective of HSP has been reduced. The first part of this study would conduct an examination of the effectiveness of HSP. Effectiveness in achieving its aim and the policy outcomes would be the focus of this part. Public Housing is a scarce and limited social resource. A rational and equitable allocation of the PRH units is expected. The HSP is the first step for HKHA to take measure to rationalize the distribution of the existing heavily subsidized PRH units since the public housing program started in 1953. The later part of this study would evaluate the equity of the HSP based on some theorists’ conception on equity. Recommendations would be made in conclusion to provide future policy directive on HSP. / published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

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Thesis (M.Hous.M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Hous. M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pennsylvania, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-162) and index.

M.Tech. / South Africa is one of the countries in the world that has delivered the highest number of houses to the poor through various delivery mechanisms. This was done to fulfill her vision of adequate housing for all, as reflected in the National Housing Policy framework. Over the last fifteen years, the African National Congress [ANC] led government has vigorously ensured that essential services were made available to advance the lives of ordinary people. Since 1994 to date, about 2 700 000 houses have been delivered, providing more than 13 million people with secure homes. One of the housing strategies, as contained in the National Housing Policy of 1994, was to provide subsidy assistance to low income groups to enable them to become home owners and improve their quality of life. The Housing Subsidy Scheme, adopted as the channel of delivery, has to date helped reduce the housing backlog and is tending to reach the goal of eradicating informal settlement by 2014. This research work is an evaluation of the post-occupancy experience of housing subsidy beneficiaries. The study evaluated satisfaction levels of subsidy beneficiaries, what beneficiaries actual do with the subsidized houses after they have been allocated to them, to ascertain if the subsidized houses have improved the beneficiaries’ lives. It also evaluates if the progressive strategy of housing to South Africa citizens is being realised; as well as determining government commitment in maintaining these houses. The methodology used for the study was both qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative research was conducted in four already established housing subsidy locations in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province of South Africa. A structured questionnaire with dichotomous, multiple choice, scaled, matrixtype and open-ended questions was used to conduct interviews and obtain data during the survey. Findings from the study revealed that the progressive strategy of housing is successful in fulfilling its vision to supply adequate housing to all its citizens. However, beneficiaries are not satisfied with the subsidized houses, because of the units’ sizes. Also, defects occurred in the houses delivered. These defects include roof leakages, cracks in walls, lack of finishing internally and externally, and defects in roof trusses. The cause of these defects was a result of poor quality control mechanisms put in place by the Department of Housing. Lastly, it was also revealed that the government has no plans in place to prevent slum conditions in the subsidized housing areas, by means of a well structured maintenance system. Based on the findings from the study, it is recommended that the Department of Housing and administrator of subsidized housing units in Gauteng should conduct a complete and thorough needs analysis of the beneficiaries of a proposed housing subsidy development, it is also recommended that government should provide as wide a choice of housing and tenure options as is reasonably possible. This can be achieved through the rental housing option. It is further recommended that the Gauteng Department of Housing should set up an independent section to carry out monitoring of subsidized houses during construction and formulate an appropriate maintenance culture that will help in encouraging beneficiaries to maintaining the subsidized house. In addition, the Department of Housing should move beyond the progressive realization of the right to adequate housing as contained in the South Africa Constitution, to the use of the housing to improve the lives of the citizens and lastly, the Gauteng Department of Housing should conduct more post-occupancy evaluations of housing subsidy beneficiaries’ experiences. By conducting more POE, the Department of Housing will be well informed of the satisfaction levels of the occupants whether the house is up to standard, if the houses have improved the lives of occupants and what actually they are doing with the houses once they are allocated to them.

The study revealed that the subsidy programs implemented in Malawi over the years have exposed many farmers to the advantages of using improved farm inputs. Almost 86 percent of the participants had a chance to grow hybrids in their farming career and out of that number 89 percent continues to grow them on a yearly basis and 76 percent indicated that hybrids have turned out to be their preferred variety. It has also revealed that complete removal of subsidy will result in the demand for inputs from subsidy eligible farmers to be removed from the market. This is based on the fact that only 5 percent of the participants were willing to pay for the improved input packages at market prevailing price.

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