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Inequality in China – Trends, Drivers, and Policy Remedies

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A new IMF reports finds that “China has grown rapidly and is on the brink of eradicating poverty. However, income inequality increased sharply from the early 1980s. While less equality is to be expected in the transition from central planning to a market-based economy, China is now among the most unequal countries in the world, despite a recent modest improvement.

Inequality has been driven by structural factors (especially demographics, the urban/rural divide and education/skills), with little offset from fiscal policies. These structural factors are likely to drive inequality higher.

This calls for more proactive use of fiscal policies to reduce inequality. On the revenue side: (1) increasing the progressivity of social security contributions and of personal and property taxes. On the spending side: (2) boosting social spending and promoting equal access across provinces and regardless of residency.”

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A new IMF reports finds that “China has grown rapidly and is on the brink of eradicating poverty. However, income inequality increased sharply from the early 1980s. While less equality is to be expected in the transition from central planning to a market-based economy, China is now among the most unequal countries in the world, despite a recent modest improvement.

Inequality has been driven by structural factors (especially demographics,

Read the full article…

Posted by at 10:11 AM

Labels: Inclusive Growth

Assessing China’s Residential Real Estate Market

A new IMF report on China says:

  • “China’s real estate market rebounded sharply after a temporary slowdown in 2014-2015. The tightening measures since late 2016 seem to have dampened market activity, but house prices and sales remain strong, particularly in smaller cities.”
  • “Risks are significant on the downside. If house prices rise further beyond “fundamental” levels and the bubble expands to smaller cities, it would increase the likelihood and costs of a sharp correction, which would weaken overall growth, undermine financial stability, reduce local government spending room, and spur capital outflows.”
  • “To stave off such risks, the increasing intensity of macro-prudential and city-specific policies is appropriate, given the diversity in housing conditions, and should continue to be deployed to ensure a smooth adjustment. The government should expand its toolkit to include additional macroprudential measures including more active use of debt servicing-to-income (DSTI) caps and capital requirements on banks’ exposure to the real estate sector.”
  • “A longer-term solution to manage better the frequent house price cycles is to introduce recurrent property taxes, resolve land supply constraints in large cities, mitigate local governments’ reliance on land sales, and accelerate reforms of the social security and “hukou” systems.”

 

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A new IMF report on China says:

  • “China’s real estate market rebounded sharply after a temporary slowdown in 2014-2015. The tightening measures since late 2016 seem to have dampened market activity, but house prices and sales remain strong, particularly in smaller cities.”
  • “Risks are significant on the downside. If house prices rise further beyond “fundamental” levels and the bubble expands to smaller cities, it would increase the likelihood and costs of a sharp correction,

Read the full article…

Posted by at 9:28 AM

Labels: Global Housing Watch

Housing View – August 11, 2017

On cross-country:

On the US:

On other countries:

  • [Australia] Mapping the market shows a substantial decline in affordable housing supply in Sydney and Melbourne over the past five years – CoreLogic
  • [Canada] New mortgages continue to rise in Canada – CMHC
  • [United Kingdom] Housing is a growing political problem for the Conservatives – The Economist
  • [United Kingdom] How to solve Britain’s housing crisis – The Economist

On cross-country:

On the US:

On other countries:

  • [Australia] Mapping the market shows a substantial decline in affordable housing supply in Sydney and Melbourne over the past five years – CoreLogic
  • [Canada] New mortgages continue to rise in Canada – CMHC
  • [United Kingdom] Housing is a growing political problem for the Conservatives – The Economist
  • [United Kingdom] How to solve Britain’s housing crisis – The Economist

Read the full article…

Posted by at 5:00 AM

Labels: Global Housing Watch

Stabilizing the System of Mortgage Finance in the United States

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A new IMF Working Paper by Richard Koss says that “It has been over a decade since the peak of house prices in the US was attained, and while there has been a concerted regulatory response to the subsequent collapse, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) remain in conservatorship. While this action served to forestall a deeper crisis at the time, over the past several years risks related to the system of mortgage finance can be seen building across several dimensions that need to be addressed. While reforms to the GSEs are an important part of dealing with these concerns, this paper argues that broader changes need to be made across the entire mortgage landscape to stabilize the system, even before the final state of the GSEs is fully determined.”

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A new IMF Working Paper by Richard Koss says that “It has been over a decade since the peak of house prices in the US was attained, and while there has been a concerted regulatory response to the subsequent collapse, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) remain in conservatorship. While this action served to forestall a deeper crisis at the time, over the past several years risks related to the system of mortgage finance can be seen building across several dimensions that need to be addressed.

Read the full article…

Posted by at 4:12 PM

Labels: Global Housing Watch

Housing View – August 4, 2017

On cross-country:

  • Housing in Euro Area – IMF

On the US:

On other countries:

  • [Australia] Quarterly Housing & Economic Review – July 2017 – CoreLogic
  • [Canada] Vancouver plan to boost housing supply ignores city hall red tape – Fraser Institute
  • Japan: Risks Emerging from Real Estate? – IMF
  • [Singapore] Housing Market in Singapore – IMF
  • [Turkey] Real estate purchases by foreigners drop in Turkey, despite generous incentives – Global Property Guide
  • [United Kingdom] British homeowners move home half as frequently as Americans do – The Economist
  • [United Kingdom] How the credit crunch transformed the UK housing market – Savills
  • [United Kingdom] Making the Case for Affordable Housing on Public Land – New Economics Foundation

On cross-country:

  • Housing in Euro Area – IMF

On the US:

  • Why Has Regional Income Convergence in the U.S. Declined? – NBER
  • 2017 Profile of International Activity in U.S. Residential Real Estate – National Association of Realtors
  • Remarks of Melvin L. Watt at the National Association of Real Estate Brokers’ 70th Annual Convention – Federal Housing Finance Agency
  • Matthew Desmond Q&A: Housing Insecurity Is a Problem We Need to ‘Out-Hate’

Read the full article…

Posted by at 5:00 AM

Labels: Global Housing Watch

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