Research On The Role Of The Local Government In The Construction Of Affordable Housing

Housing is not an ordinary commodity. It also has certain social attributes. Housing security is a very important class of public goods what the government should provide, and perfect housing security system is a sign of social development and progress. As the representative of public interests, the government has the responsibility to protect the housing rights of citizens. For some time, local governments put little emphasis on the construction of affordable houses. They try to develop the real estate market to get economy growth. Due to the rich revenue from land-transferring, the government's public behavior has gone wrong.In this paper, the author analysis the reason why local governments act wrong roles in the construction of affordable houses. The author considers that the reasons rely on the conflicts of different roles that the governments act. While the reasons of the conflicts include the interests of the governments themselves, the backward public service functions and the departure of objects on market economy and affordable housing. Learn from international experience, the author advises that the local governments should take on the roles of policy-makers, investors, guide and supervisor. The author also give some advice on how the local governments strengthen the role on the construction of affordable houses.