Housing constitutes one of the most significant assets for ordinary citizens in China, yet its political implications remain underexplored. Existing political economy theories, largely developed in democratic contexts, predict that property ownership reduces support for redistribution. This study examines whether these expectations hold in China by analyzing the heterogeneous effects of homeownership on policy support for policies related to redistribution. Using nationally representative survey data and combining matching techniques with instrumental variable analysis, we find that homeownership increases support for policies related to redistribution. This positive effect is significantly stronger among employees of state-owned enterprises than among private-sector workers. Mediation analysis further suggests that this relationship operates through channels including family wealth, perceptions of inequality, and marital status. These findings challenge dominant asset-based theories of redistribution and demonstrate that the political consequences of homeownership are fundamentally shaped by institutional context. More broadly, the study highlights how housing functions not only as an economic asset but also as a socio-political mechanism through which states mediate welfare expectations and social stability. • Homeownership increases support for redistribution policies in China. • The impact is stronger for employees of state-owned enterprises compared to private-sector workers. • Socioeconomic factors like income and inequality perceptions mediate this relationship. • Matching algorithms and instrumental variable methods address endogeneity concerns. • Findings connect housing policies to broader welfare and urban governance debates.
Liu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.