The paper seeks to address the question of the distributive equity of Hong Kong's public housing programme. While the rather complicated requirements for admission and the multitude of purposes the programme serves result to a certain extent in an inequitable distribution of housing benefits, the programme's overall impact on the distribution of income appears favourable. Computation of the Gini coefficient based on the 1976, 1981 and 1986 censuses shows that this favourable effect is becoming more apparent over time. The provision of housing benefits may not be the most efficient method of redistributing income, but this must be weighed against such considerations as social stability, neighbourhood viability and the desirability of spatial segregation.
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