HOUSING MARKETS IN THIRD-WORLD CITIES - RESEARCH AND POLICY INTO THE 1990S

A review of analyses of urban housing markets is timely to suggest directions for research and policy in the next decade. The neoclassical approach to housing economics is contrasted with a political economy framework, with respect to the production or supply of housing and consumption or demand. An argument is advanced for increased attention to the analysis of citywide housing markets, using insights from both theoretical approaches, and for research into processes of exchange. Such analyses should form the basis for policies which focus neither on selected income groups or residential areas in isolation from wider housing market processes nor on housing output targets, but primarily on ensuring the provision of essential inputs.