Housing inequality in Urban China: Guangzhou 1996 and 2005

Based on household surveys conducted in the City of Guangzhou in 1996 and 2005, this paper examines the changes in the extent and nature of urban housing inequality in China consequent upon the cessation of the welfare allocation of housing at the turn of the millennium. The result shows that the overall level of housing inequality in Guangzhou has remained quite stable. Both continuities and changes are revealed for the factors behind the differences in housing consumption. In particular, household income has assumed greater importance. However, variables characterizing social and housing stratification in die former socialist redistributive economy, such as membership in the CCP and hukou continue to exert substantial influence on the access to housing.