Housing research dissertation meeting 4: April - May 2026 agenda

Housing research dissertation meeting 4:  April to May 2026 agenda

To review the following 2 topics in the meeting: 

1. Policy analysis and its related theories

1.1 The main topics

Policy analysis in Housing Studies examines government strategies for housing provision, affordability, and equity. In Hong Kong, it focuses on unique challenges like land scarcity and massive public intervention.

Core Topics Globally

Housing policy analysis covers problem identification, policy evaluation, and impacts on equity and sustainability. Key areas include supply-demand dynamics, regulatory frameworks, and social justice principles from Western and Eastern perspectives. Methods often involve quantitative market data, spatial analysis, and case studies.

Hong Kong Focus

Hong Kong's analysis highlights public rental housing for one-third of residents amid neoliberal trends. It critiques land policies, development controls, and post-1997 crises driving high prices. Informality like subdivided units and homeownership schemes face scrutiny for equity gaps.

Key Challenges

Affordability crises stem from limited supply, speculation, and income restrictions for public housing. Policies often lag due to political economy and global factors like interest rates. Future reforms emphasize supply boosts and power balance shifts.

1.2 The main theories

Five key academic theories underpin policy analysis in Housing Studies, especially for Hong Kong's context of affordability crises and public housing dominance. These frameworks help dissect policy formulation, equity, and market dynamics.

Institutional Analysis

This theory examines governance structures, stakeholder interactions, and institutional constraints in housing delivery. In Hong Kong, it analyzes land scarcity and policy implementation amid public-private tensions.

Theory of Justice

Drawing from John Rawls, it evaluates housing policies for fairness and protection of vulnerable groups. Applied to Hong Kong, it critiques allocation equity in public rental and subdivided units.

Welfare Regime Theory

Housing is framed within broader welfare state models, comparing liberal, corporatist, or social-democratic approaches. Hong Kong's residual welfare regime highlights tensions between homeownership promotion and social rental needs.

Structure of Housing Provision (SHP)

This views housing as a process of production, exchange, and consumption shaped by social relations. It explains Hong Kong's policy shifts, like post-1997 interventions amid market forces.

Policy Transfer/Mobility

Studies how policies diffuse, transfer, or mutate across contexts, considering path-dependence and contingency. In Hong Kong, it traces imported models adapted to local land and political realities.

2. Qualitative data analysis

To study a video on qualitative data analysis.