Housing in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea - Richard Green, USC
Charter Cities
By Richard Green
...Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea experienced great economic success: all have per capita GDP that is at least seven times higher than in 1960 (see Penn World Table for more information). All three economies also came to be relatively well housed. While we cannot draw a uniform lesson from their experiences, it is worthwhile to examine each case for clues about successful housing development...
...Economists might prefer this more market-driven Korean model in which housing development followed from economic development. The primary difference between Korea on the one hand and Singapore and Hong Kong on the other was the number of households residing in modern housing units in the early stages of economic development.
The disastrous experience with public housing in the United States should give us pause about its implementation elsewhere. One can also find examples of public housing becoming sinkholes of corruption in African countries. Yet there is no gainsaying the fundamental success of Hong Kong and Singapore...