The recent years have seen a rise in the interest and media coverage concerning the housing markets in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both cities are routinely ranked as some of the most expensive...Show moreThe recent years have seen a rise in the interest and media coverage concerning the housing markets in Hong Kong and Singapore. Both cities are routinely ranked as some of the most expensive property markets internationally, and have thus been the subject of significant comparison. This is often done on the basis of the two cities sharing commonalities in history and the situations of their housing markets, but in doing so, these comparisons negate the influences that the political environments over the course of history have had on the two governments' approaches to housing policy. In particular, the two governments operate from very different perspectives, as this paper will demonstrate with the use of theoretical frameworks concerning international political order and political economy. Drawing on research into the historical and political trajectories of the two cities with specific regards to housing development, this paper aims to identify the political influences on the history and approaches to housing development in Hong Kong and Singapore that are overlooked in much of the coverage and comparisons employed today.Show less
