Homeownership and Political Legitimacy: A Case Study of Hong Kong and Singapore

Widespread homeownership has traditionally been considered a favourable factor for the stability of democracies in Europe and America. Analysis of variance in perceived legitimacy between Singapore and Hong Kong suggests that the stabilising effect of widespread homeownership does not only apply to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Politics (Manchester, England) England), 2012-02, Vol.32 (1), p.52-64
Main Authors: Lee, Siu-yau, Yu, Yim-fong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Authoritarianism
Authoritarianism (Political Ideology)
Democracy
Europe
Home ownership
Hong Kong
Legitimacy
Political stability
Political systems
Public opinion
Singapore
Stability
United States of America
Variance (Statistics)
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Summary:Widespread homeownership has traditionally been considered a favourable factor for the stability of democracies in Europe and America. Analysis of variance in perceived legitimacy between Singapore and Hong Kong suggests that the stabilising effect of widespread homeownership does not only apply to democracies, but also to authoritarian regimes. This article proposes that a regime, be it democratic or not, tends to enjoy a higher level of legitimacy when homeownership is more popular, ceteris paribus. Our finding sheds light on the conventional wisdom on several scores, particularly by extending the analysis of the political impacts of homeownership to Asian countries, and reaffirming its importance in maintaining political stability.
ISSN:0263-3957
1467-9256
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-9256.2011.01425.x