The Singapore Model of Housing and the Welfare State

• Main Author: PHANG, Sock Yong
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2007
• Subjects: Housing policy; East Asia; Singapore; Welfare state; housing; home ownership; social welfare; Asian Studies; Economics; Growth and Development; Public Economics; Real Estate
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/596; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soe_research/article/1595/viewcontent/Phang___Groves_C2__2007_.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

While Singapore is not generally regarded as a welfare state, the provision of housing welfare on a large scale has been a defining feature of its welfare system. The extensive housing system has played a useful role in raising savings and homeownership rates as well as contributing to sustained economic growth in general and development of the housing sector in particular. Few would dispute the description of Singapore’s housing policies as 'phenomenally successful' (Ramesh, 2003). Singapore’s economic growth record in the past four decades has brought it from third world to first world status (Lee, 2000), with homeownership widespread at more than 90 percent for the resident population.