The value of housing to welfare: Reflection from East Asian experiences

1. The value of housing to welfare:Reflection from East Asian experiences Misa Izuhara School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol Housing Studies Association Annual Conference, York, April 2014

2. Introduction Linking home ownership to welfare • Housing as a platform of wealth accumulation • ‘Asset-based welfare’ • Home ownership aims to promote ‘widening access and social integration’ • From the ‘social project’ to the ‘economic project’ • Household assets = housing assets: difficulties and potential for equity release • Importance of individuals attitude

3. The East Asian context

4. The East Asian context Japan Asset-based welfare pronounced Post-bubble economy (1990 on) From ‘corporate paternalism’ to neoliberal policy reforms Post-growth society

5. The East Asian context Japan Asset-based welfare pronounced Post-bubble economy (1990 on) From ‘corporate paternalism’ to neoliberal policy reforms Post-growth society China From planned economy to market-oriented economy Parallel processes of privatisation reforms and commercialisation From low-level, universal welfare provision to cash-driven system

6. The East Asian context Japan Asset-based welfare pronounced Post-bubble economy (1990 on) From ‘corporate paternalism’ to neoliberal policy reforms Post-growth society China From planned economy to market-oriented economy Parallel processes of privatisation reforms and commercialisation From low-level, universal welfare provision to cash-driven system Singapore The ‘soft-authoritarian’ state The state control on housing and welfare provision Welfare depends on housing The Central Provident Fund; the Housing and Development Board

7. Institutional mechanisms • To consider the ways in which housing assets can be turned into cash/cash flow to use for welfare • ‘Immobile assets’ – need help of institutions? • Market development: China, Japan • Non-market approach: Singapore • Institutional incentives: e.g. access to long-term care is not means-tested (Japan) • Cultural barriers: Family v individual assets, attitudes towards the use of assets, perception of risk

8. Whose welfare? • Process and impact of intergenerational transfers • Different level and direction of the flow of resources: China v Japan • Parents are a key source of welfare • Timing: Tax incentives to encourage early transfers (Japan) • Pooling resources: increasing ‘interdependency’ • Is housing an intergenerational project? • Are children welfare resources?

9. Widening social divisions • The equality of opportunity v outcomes • Commodification of housing, neoliberal policy reforms, housing price volatility produces wealth divisions • The ‘housing asset rich’ = the ‘welfare rich’: exclusionary than inclusionary welfare? • Family wealth is greater source of social stratification • Gender divisions

10. Concluding comments • Micro-macro interaction: need better balance between individual accumulation and social re-distribution? • The active ‘role of the state’ in asset-based approaches: more pragmatic • Volatility in the housing market: how can housing values be maintained? • Families counter-weigh asset-poor, income-differentiated younger people