Publication: Access to Affordable and Low-Income Housing in East Asia and the Pacific
Loading...
Date
2014
ISSN
Published
2014
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Across the world, the housing sector plays a key role in local and national economies, and expanding access to housing can encourage more equitably shared economic growth. This report surveys current policy interventions designed to encourage affordable housing in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP). The purpose of this report is to provide a general overview of the recent trends in urbanization and development in EAP and to consider different forms of government, market, and nonprofit actions that support housing affordability. It will also highlight key constraints and barriers that restrict the provision of low-cost housing in urban areas. Housing is important because it represents a significant household expenditure. The report assesses the strengths and limitations of affordable housing strategies used by different countries throughout EAP. This report offers broad conclusions that account for the broad social, political, and institutional variation among EAP countries; as such, these conclusions may well be applicable to more than one country context. The report also provides specific recommendations for improvement where existing interventions are new or have proven less successful. The report is divided into following chapters: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two examines trends in urbanization rates, economic development, and inequality in order to introduce the need for high-quality, low-cost housing options. Chapter three examines EAP regional trends in urban housing affordability for owners and renters from select cities. Chapter four outlines future directions for affordable housing provision based on a comparative consideration of international best practices. Finally, chapter five surveys different affordable housing policies currently in place in EAP and summarizes their strengths and weaknesses.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2014. Access to Affordable and Low-Income Housing in East Asia and the Pacific. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/21100 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication An Assessment of Housing for Low-income Groups in Danang : Phase II Report(Washington, DC, 2007-02)In August 2004, in response to a request from the Government of Vietnam (GOV), the WB/ IDA launched preparatory activities for the Priority Infrastructure Investment Project (PIIP) in Danang. The PIIP is a multi-sectoral infrastructure investment initiative aimed at poverty reduction and the promotion of economic growth. The Project reflects the national goals set out in the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy (CPRGS), and is in line with the overall development priorities of the City's Five-Year (2006-200) Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP). The (PIIP) Project objectives are to: i) improve the living conditions and productivity of low income residents through better access to basic services; ii) promote economic growth through strategic investments that enhance mobility and increase private sector participation in the City's economic development; and iii) improve city and district level management through institutional and human resource development and capacity building. During the course of (PIIP) Project preparation activities, the Government expressed a desire to include a further sub-component to support the provision of housing for poor households not affected by the Project. This provided the rationale for the Assessment of Housing for Low Income Groups in Danang, (hereinafter referred to as the Low Income Housing Assessment Study (LIHAS)), which will parallel, support and inform preparation of the PIIP Project, while not being an integral part of it. The Study will take account of Government housing policy as it affects low-income households (LIH) in Danang. In this regard there has been a move away from direct Government involvement in house construction for the public sector service which was found to be financially unsustainable. The scope of work is based on two phases with the second phase consisting of options and recommendations: this second stage report contains: i) determination of the effective demand for low-income housing; ii) description of alternative technical standards for low income housing in the city; iii) overview of the need for financing of low income households, the demand for finance and different models of low income household finance; iv) definition of an outline low income housing policy for Danang City v) models of low-income housing production with varying degrees of public and private participation; vi) suggestions relating to the institutional framework for public housing provision and management.Publication The Asian Coalition for Community Action's Approach to Slum Upgrading(Washington, DC, 2014)This paper is a review of the experience of the Asian Coalition for Community Action (ACCA) Program operated by the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR). The objective is to examine what ACCA has accomplished in three years of operation (2009-2012) under a Gates Foundation grant. The review is based on field visits to three of the countries served by ACCA Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam and discussions with community leaders from three other countries Nepal, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Numerous discussions were held with the ACHR leadership, staff from the Community Organization Development Institute (CODI) of Thailand, and the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).1 In addition, a review was conducted of the literature prepared by and about ACHR, as well as a filtering and synthesis of the status of the cities and countries that made use of ACCA in terms of their broader economic conditions and local governance capabilities. Given that ACCA operates in more than 150 cities in 19 countries, this review is by no means an audited account of its activities.Publication A Framework for Housing Policy Reform in Urban Areas in Egypt : Developing a Well Functioning Housing System and Strengthening the National Housing Program(Washington, DC, 2008-06)This document builds upon several recent studies and reports carried out in the 2006-2007 period. The first note, entitled analysis of housing supply mechanisms (World Bank), analyzes the situation of housing supply in urban areas in Egypt, including the study of existing formal and informal mechanisms for the delivery of urban housing, the institutions responsible for supply and regulation, the characteristics of the formal and informal stock, and the institutional and regulatory framework governing land use planning and development. The second is a housing demand study in Greater Cairo (USAID TAPRII), which uses household data surveyed in December 2006 and yields results on the housing demand and household characteristics in the Greater Cairo Region. The third is an analysis of subsidized housing programs (USAID TAPRII), which assesses past, existing and pipeline subsidy programs in Egypt. International Best Practices were presented at a high-level workshop held in April 2007 with the intent of assessing different schemes of housing subsidies and reforms used in other emerging markets, in order draw lessons pertinent for Egypt. Finally, a note (World Bank) summarized the framework for moving from a program-based to a policy-based approach to housing sector reform, which was jointly developed by the World Bank and USAID TAPRII teams and discussed with Government of Egypt (GOE) policymakers in the high-level workshops of April and May 2007, and endorsed in September 2007. These studies and reports are briefly summarized in the annex (section seven) to this report.Publication Housing Policy in Developing Countries(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008)All countries have a formal economy and an informal economy. But, on average, in developing countries the relative size of the informal sector is considerably larger than in developed countries. This paper argues that this has important implications for housing policy in developing countries. That most poor households derive their income from informal employment effectively precludes income-contingent transfers as a method of redistribution. Also, holding fixed real economic activity, the larger is the relative size of the informal sector, the lower is fiscal capacity, and the more distortionary is government provision of a given level of goods and services, which restricts the desirable scale and scope of government policy. For the same reasons, housing policies that have proven successful in developed countries may not be successful when employed in developing countries.Publication Housing Matters(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-11)Housing matters to the livability of cities and to the productivity of their economies. The failure of cities to accommodate the housing needs of growing urban populations can be seen in the proliferation of poorly serviced, high-density informal settlements. Such settlements are not new in the history of rapidly growing cities, their persistence results as much from policies as from economics and demographic transition. Slums have attracted most of the attention on urban housing in developing countries, and the Millennium Development Goals have given prominence to their reduction. However, urban housing issues transcend conditions in slums and are linked closely to economic activity. City economies influence housing demand, and in turn the flexibility of housing supply affects economic activity and city growth. This paper provides an overview of the policy and institutional building blocks that determine housing sector performance, drawing on studies from both developed and developing countries. It focuses on property rights, including tenure choice, housing finance, and subsidies. It also reviews the factors that affect supply: the availability of serviced land, as well as land and housing regulations. While these elements have been standard tools of housing policy, they are still the subject of considerable debate over their sequencing, policy content, and priority. There has been a great deal of emphasis over the last two decades on demand-side measures to improve property rights systems, develop housing finance, and even to introduce new subsidy systems. All these developments are important, but as this paper argues, less progress has been made in understanding and addressing the factors that constrain supply, which often thwart improvements on the demand side.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.