J. Lee (1999) Housing, Home Ownership and Social Change in Hong Kong

Housing, Home Ownership and Social Change in Hong Kong is a good piece of academic research conducted by a local researcher in Hong Kong. Although it is commonly believed that the real-estate market is the backbone of the Hong Kong economy, local researchers have only recently shown interest in publishing academic work related to the housing market. Even fewer researchers study the issue of home ownership from a sociological perspective. This book serves as an initial effort studying the “social” aspect of home ownership in Hong Kong. Section One sets out the background and theoretical framework of the book. Chapter Two provides a brief review of Hong Kong’s political and economic situation. The chapter is informative, although it may be boring to those who know Hong Kong. Comparatively speaking, Chapter Three is more interesting than Chapter Two. It includes the development of housing research and a general description of the housing market in Hong Kong. Even though this chapter should not be a major focus of the book, this is the most comprehensive review of Hong Kong housing studies I have ever seen. The author proposes a multi-dimensional mode of study that includes the roles of individual and family in the study of housing system. This theme is also echoed in the theory review. This chapter is strongly recommended to all those who are interested in housing studies in Hong Kong. Since the author recommends studying the issue from a home ownership perspective, the literature review chapter provides an up-to-date review of the debates about home ownership. In contrast to macrolevel analysis, which focuses more on the impact of social policy and structure, the author argues that a micro-level perspective that includes the meaning of home, cultural value and family network is an appropriate angle from which to study the issue of home ownership in Hong Kong. As researchers, we always want to contribute to the discipline by studying the issue from a new angle. In my opinion, the author has succeeded in applying a micro-level analysis to understand why people own their own homes in Hong Kong. Historical analysis with a focus on cultural values will become an important angle in the study of the housing issues in Hong Kong. However, while a framework for analysing home ownership is provided, the relationship between home ownership and social changes is brie y discussed. Section Two is a case study in Hong Kong using the framework developed in Chapter Four. It contains information gained from a large number of interviews. Using the method of narrative history, a picture of the “social” side of homeownership in Hong Kong is pieced together. Through interviews, the author tells us how Hong Kong people pooled their family resources to buy homes not only for themselves but also for their children. As a critique for the rationalist model of housing choice, the author argues that the act of owning a home in Hong Kong is embedded deeply in social relationships such as kinship and cultural value. I think this discrepancy between the two views comes from the different assumptions taken by economists and sociologists in studying social phenomena. The author’s argument is sound and valid and enables sociologists to understand the phenomena in a more comprehensive way. On the other hand, I wonder whether researchers from other disciplines would agree with what the author proposes. However, this is a good piece of work that produces some hard evidence to support the “social” side of home ownership. Although not conclusive, the book provides initial support for the argument for the social embeddedness of economic action. The idea of family ownership is important to housing studies as a whole. It is a concept that can be used to explain the phenomena concerning home ownership, not only in Hong Kong, but also in other societies. As the author mentions, kinship support for the growth of home ownership has been underresearched. The author identi es at least two reasons for family support – family consumption and economic bene ts for the whole family including parents and children. Through family support, individuals can maximize their  nancial resources in their family network and share the risk of  nancial loss. According to the argument of the book, family business is never a rational behaviour that aims only at pro tmaking. Although this is an interesting piece of work, the book has its shortcomings. By assuming the readers have little knowledge of Hong Kong, this book reviews the situation of Hong Kong in several chapters. Although the review is comprehensive, it covers more than it is necessary. On the one hand, these reviews are a valuable resource in documenting research on family and housing in Hong Kong; on the other hand, these sections make the book look like an introductory text. Probably for the sake of tradition, sociologists like