FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE - UNDERSTANDING HOUSING PRIVATIZATION IN POST-SOCIALIST COUNTRIES

In a period of economic transition, many commentators have identified the inefficiencies, distortions and inequalities which exist in the housing system of post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. These structural flaws are deemed to be incompatible with the adoption of free market principles and economic liberalization. For economic and political reasons the reform of the housing system has become a necessary and indispensable element of the market reform process. This paper contributes to the growing debate on the context in which housing reform and housing privatization programs have been adopted in Europe's post-socialist economies. The paper goes on to argue that the introduction of housing privatization and the preoccupation with owner-occupation has not been based on any overall assessment of what has occurred elsewhere in western Europe or on the experience of housing provision in other advanced western capitalist countries. The economically driven orthodox approach towards privatization and the way this has been translated into the housing system of post-socialist countries raises important policy questions on the longer term viability of housing provision and the creation of a sustainable housing system.     

PRIVATIZED HOUSING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONDOMINIUMS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE: THE CASES OF POLAND, HUNGARY, SLOVAKIA, AND ROMANIA

This paper looks at the housing sector reform in Central and Eastern Europe and examines the progress to date in housing privatization and policies aimed at improving the management and condition of the existing housing stock through the establishment and operation of the condominium form of ownership. The paper compares and analyzes approaches taken in four countries with regard to four issues: (I) the legal framework and implementation strategies; (2) the role of local government housing strategies in supporting the development of viable condominium associations; (3) property management of privatized housing; and (4) financing rehabilitation and capital repair projects for condominiums. Findings include the need for a clear legal framework, competition in the property management market, more supportive local government policies, and public sector support in tackling rehabilitation finance issues.     

COMPETITION AND SOCIAL HOUSING IN EUROPE

This article discusses the application of the concept of competition to social housing in Europe. A distinction is made between competition amongst social housing suppliers and between social housing organisations and commercial suppliers of housing. The competitiveness of social housing is examined using evidence mainly from England and the Netherlands.     

ECONOMIC REFORM IN EASTERN EUROPE

Abstract. Since the early 1960s, reforms in the traditional centralized model of a planned economy have been debated. In most of Eastern Europe, reforms have been confined to cautious ones seeking to improve central planning. But in Hungary, and to a small degree elsewhere, more radical reforms have taken root. These retain elements of planning but also introduce the institutions and policies needed to support a more active market orientation for the economy. Such reforms encounter limits when they begin to threaten, or call into question, established political structures and it is an open question how much further reforms can proceed in Hungary without political change.     

MONETARY TRANSMISSION MECHANISM IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE: SURVEYING THE SURVEYABLE

Abstract.  This paper surveys recent advances in empirical studies of the monetary transmission mechanism, with special attention to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Our results indicate that the strength of the exchange rate pass-through substantially declined over time mainly due to a fall in inflation rates and to some extent due to the so-called composition effect. The asset price channel is weak and is likely to remain weak because of shallow stock and private bond markets and because of low stock and bond holdings of domestic households. House prices may become an exception with booming mortgage lending and with high owner occupancy ratios. While the credit channel could be a powerful channel of monetary transmission – as new funds raised on capital markets are close to zero in CEE – it is actually not, as both commercial banks and non-financial corporations can escape domestic monetary conditions by borrowing from their foreign mother companies. The moderately good news, however, is that those banks and firms are influenced by monetary policy in the euro area because their parent institutions are themselves subjected to the credit channel in the euro area.     

FINANCIAL CRIME TRENDS IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

Central and Eastern Europe, as political and military strategists found to their frustration during the Cold War, is an extremely large and diffuse area. It contains the blocs of Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation and the Balkans. For the purposes of this paper, there is a general section and then a focus on two countries. These are the Russian Federation, arguably one of the main areas of organised crime impacting upon a global scale, and Romania, one of the latest Candidate Countries for joining the EU.     

THE SIZE OF HOUSING SUBSIDIES IN CHINA*

Inexhaustible, strong demand for housing, which is generated from the current low rents and the work-unit-distribution housing system, has caused permanent housing shortages in China's urban sector. It is also one of the main sources of China's cost-push inflation. The transition from public to private saving, which is included in current housing reform, is the only way to solve the housing problems facing the country. Calculation of the size of housing subsidies is the very foundation of any housing reform program. Based on my estimates, the annual housing subsidy per woker expanded 8.6 limes during the period from 1978 to 1988, increasing at an anual rate of 24.1%. Total housing subsidies expanded 12.4 times, rising at an annual rate of 28.6%. Relative to GNP, the housing subsidies grew from 1.3% to 4.2% during the period. The rapid expansion of housing subsidies has several significant policy implications for China's economy. These include the need for reappraising real worker income identifying the enlarged portion of revenue in kind, and recalculating housing consumption.     

THE EMERGENCE OF LIBERAL SOCIALISM IN CONTINENTAL EUROPE1

Socialism has repeatedly failed to match the accomplishments of capitalism, and yet it refuses to die. At the beginning of the twenty‐first century, a new type of socialism, ‘liberal socialism’, is growing in Europe. The rise of liberal socialism has been marked by the erosion of two key institutions of capitalism, private property rights and the freedom of exchange. Unlike communism, which used brute force to replace private property rights and free exchange with state ownership and central planning, liberal socialism focuses on redistributing wealth, creating entitlement programmes, supporting labour unions and promoting ‘fair’ trade.     

THE USE AND ABUSE OF MARKETS IN HOUSING POLICY

This paper argues that, despite its rhetoric in support of markets, government does not understand how markets work, but is rather trying to use certain aspects of markets to control social housing. The paper looks at three areas: first, the idea of private finance and how this is used by government as a form of public policy; second, the notion of risk and whether it actually occurs in social housing; and third, the contention that government is incapable of appreciating the manner in which markets operate because it only wishes to provide safe options and so cannot countenance real choice and competition.     

TRANSITION OF THE HOUSING SECTOR IN THE EAST CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The fall of socialism in 1989–1990 led to the end of the East European housing model, which was based on the limitation of property rights, extensive central planning and politically determined allocation of subsidies. This paper aims to present a clear picture of the current housing situation through a reliable information system. The major observation is that in the countries studied, the housing situation is relatively good; it is not housing shortage, but die inefficiency of the institutional system, affordability and deferred maintenance that are the main problems. Based on the idea of "enabling policies" - policies that facilitate the activities of the key stakeholders in the sector while providing an essential element of the social safety net - the paper establishes the goals and objectives that should guide the formulation of policy and institutional reforms within the sector, and defines priorities for actions to be taken by national and local governments and by international agencies in support of governments.     

THE HOUSING MARKET IN 1993

What hope is there of a recovery in the housing market in the rest of 1993? Jonathan Morris, of economic consultant Lombard Street Research, analyses the influences that will affect the housing market.     

POLITICIZED MANAGERIAL CAPITALISM: ENTERPRISE STRUCTURES IN POST-SOCIALIST CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

The paper contributes to the sociological tradition of comparative institutional analysis. It argues that a distinctive form of capitalism is emerging in post 1989 Central and Eastern Europe, politicized managerial capitalism. This is a bifurcated system, one sub‐system internationally oriented, a still peripheral but increasingly integrated part of global capitalism, and a second sub‐system, more nationally oriented, dominated by managerial élites allied with weak states. Politicized managerial capitalism is founded upon the inherited practices of late Socialism, moulded by the post Socialist development process and congruent with the stage of development of capital, labour and product markets. It is unclear as to whether this is a transient or long‐term structure.     

新城市地产参展广州房博会

9月18—20日,2009年广州房地产交易博览会暨城市规划建设及住房安居展在琶洲会展中心举行。广州新城市地产、保利、富力、雅居乐等数十家有实力的本地开发商参展,成为最多房地产企业参展的房博会。     

“三旧”改造系列之时代样本：广州：当保障房“邂逅”三旧改造

＂旧城改造＂既是一件＂利在千秋万代＂的大事,又是一道复杂难解的题。 题虽难解,但很多城市却已在用自己的实践与智慧在求解答案。 广州、佛山、成都……在一个个时代样本的背后,是旧城改造的几大强有力的＂法宝＂：规划、法制、民本、市场、保护、创新。     

AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION: THE FUTURE OF CASINO GAMING IN AMERICA AND EUROPE

The economic recession of 2007–09 had dramatic effects on spending on gambling and, therefore, on a number of major gaming companies, resulting in situations where cash flows were increasingly inadequate to service debt obligations. The recession thus interrupted growth trends in various segments of casino industries in America and Europe, which undermined future growth expectations and potential. This analysis examines economic events and other factors that have affected the casino industry in the last few years, and examines their implications for the future of casino and gaming markets in America and Europe.     

THE DESIGN OF DIRECT DEMAND SUBSIDY PROGRAMS FOR HOUSING IN LATIN AMERICA

Traditional Latin American housing programs, which have used below-market interest rates to convey subsidies, have suffered from serious vices: high per-unit cost and subsidies, low population coverage, lack of transparency, benefits to the middle-class rather than the poor, and inefficiency. Chile broke out of this flawed traditional mode by launching a housing program that conveys subsidies directly to households in die form of a one-time, non-reimbursable grant This approach has spread to other Latin American countries, increasingly with the support of donors. The paper describes and then analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of direct subsidy programs in Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Uruguay to distill ten design lessons: target to low-income households and ensure political autonomy; replace below-market interest rates with direct demand subsidies; use group mechanisms for low-income households; stimulate supply, not just demand; adjust key amounts for inflation; balance progressivity and financial feasibility; join die efforts of various levels of government; use NGOs; establish mechanisms for on-going consolidation of housing solutions; and include measures to promote broader housing sector reform. The conclusion applies these lessons to the design of a housing pilot project in Venezuela.