Global city formation, authoritarian politics, and transnational policy transfer: The case of affordable housing in China

Abstract

Conventional research on global cities and policy transfer focuses on global cities in developed democracies. How Asian global cities innovate and transfer social policy has received less scholarly attention. I argue that transnational policy transfer (TPT) has occurred between more mature global cities in Asia and emerging global cities in China in the post-reform era. Empirically, this article examines the policy domain of affordable housing (AH) and identifies two mature models of AH provision: asset-based welfare (ABW) in Singapore and public rental housing (PRH) in Hong Kong. It then traces how these models were transferred in three emerging global cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. While Shanghai has favored Singapore's ABW model, Guangzhou and Shenzhen have prioritized Hong Kong's PRH model. By selecting three cases with different political-administrative statuses, this article shows how authoritarian politics can interact with the agency of global cities in shaping varying TPT trajectories.