Housing Policy in Developing Countries

What has been the role of the state vis-a-vis housing policy in developing countries in the last few years? To date there has been no significant attempt to deal comprehensively with state intervention in the housing market in the Third World, with most of the literature choosing to concentrate either on specific country studies or on single issues. This book attempts an analysis of comparative housing policy - the study of how, why and to what effect different governments pursue particular courses of action or inaction. Both sides of the equation are identified - the demand side and the supply side. Policy-makers opt for subsidies either to builders (whether they are formal or informal, profit making or non-profit making) or to consumers, or for a combination of both. This book analyzes the consequences of those decisions in a wide cross-section of developing countries.