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

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

The East Asian context

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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