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The Determinants of Homeownership Affordability among the ‘Sandwich Class’: Empirical Findings from Guangzhou, China

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  • Qianwei Ying
  • Danglun Luo
  • Jie Chen

Abstract

The ‘sandwich class’ is an East Asian term referring to the lower middle class. Using a large and unique micro dataset collected in Guangzhou, this paper examines empirically the potential determinants of housing affordability of the ‘sandwich class’. It is found that an individual’s self-perceived range of housing options is dependent not only on his/her current and predictable economic and financial resources, but also on his/her occupation and socio-demographic characteristics. The empirical findings are found to be robust against potential endogeneity problems and not sensitive to the regression specifications used. The empirical findings reported here help to deepen our understanding of the homeownership affordability determinants of the lower middle class in emerging economies characterised by an underdeveloped housing system.

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  • Qianwei Ying & Danglun Luo & Jie Chen, 2013. "The Determinants of Homeownership Affordability among the ‘Sandwich Class’: Empirical Findings from Guangzhou, China," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(9), pages 1870-1888, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:50:y:2013:i:9:p:1870-1888
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098012470398
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    2. Zhao Zhang & Niamh Moore-Cherry & Declan Redmond, 2018. "A Crisis of Crisis Management? Evaluating Post-2010 Housing Restructuring in Nanjing, China," Housing Policy Debate, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 29-49, January.
    3. Nor Suzylah Sohaimi & Alias Abdullah & Syafiee Shuid, 2017. "Housing Affordability and Pathways among Malaysian Young Professionals in Greater Kuala Lumpur," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 7(2), pages 653-665, February.
    4. Dasgupta,Basab & Lall,Somik V. & Lozano Gracia,Nancy, 2014. "Urbanization and housing investment," Policy Research Working Paper Series 115004, The World Bank.
    5. Mikulić, Josip & Vizek, Maruška & Stojčić, Nebojša & Payne, James E. & Čeh Časni, Anita & Barbić, Tajana, 2021. "The effect of tourism activity on housing affordability," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Xiaolong Gan & Jian Zuo & Tao Wen & Yujuan She, 2019. "Exploring the Adequacy of Massive Constructed Public Housing in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Chunhui Liu & Weixuan Song, 2019. "Perspectives of Socio-Spatial Differentiation from Soaring Housing Prices: A Case Study in Nanjing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-16, May.

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