Western societies promote home ownership in the belief that it provides a means to build up individual welfare and security, potentially offsetting the inadequacy of social security to meet needs in retirement. Some East Asian economies have long focused on advancing ‘asset building’ through housing policy. These efforts have two purposes: to use housing investment to drive economic development and to build family assets throughout life as a component of income protection for old age. These purposes work well in some countries but not as well in others. In policy terms, the common element among them is that governments promote home ownership as a component of social policy or as a complement to mainstream welfare. This article examines how home ownership fares as a form of asset-based welfare in selected East Asian countries (Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan) and considers the implications for understanding the role of institutions in development.

西方社會提高自有住房，因為他們相信自有住房為建立個人福利和保障提供一種途徑，可以抵消退休後社會保障的潛在不足。一些東亞經濟體長期通過住房政策發展 “資產建設”，並努力達到兩個目的：其一，通過住房投資刺激經濟發展；其二，建設終身家庭財產，並將此作為老年收入保障的一部分。然而不是所有國家都能順利達到這兩個目的。從政策角度來講，這兩個目的都包含同一種成分，即政府提高自有住房，並將此作為社會政策的一部分或者福利政策的補充。本文探討了自有住房作為基於資產的福利，在三個東亞國家（新加坡、香港和日本）是如何發展的；同時，本文思考了對理解機構發展的啟示。

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