WHAT ECONOMIC MODEL SHOULD FUND THE PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SOCIAL HOUSING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES? SOME EXAMPLES

This paper discusses the concepts of standard of living, modest incomes and suggests the methods of calculating their values Stakeholders involved in the production and management of social housing are identified and their roles within the sector are defined.The two economic models that can be used for the production and management of social housing are also presented and it can be seen that, while one of the models is based solely on bank loans, the other relies mainlyon public funding. For its implementation, the bank lending business model requires the existence of a strong financial market that underpins a network of successful banking institutions. While this is true in most industrialized countries, this is not the case in developing countries where this network of institutions is embryonic or non-existent. The second economic model, based on public funding alone, appears to be a reliable alternative for producing and managing social housing in developing countries. However, an economic crisis materialized by the scarcity of public financial resources could lead to a deadlock in the functioning of this model. A careful examination of the economic models for financing the production and management of social housing that have been implemented in the world, presents at least three (03) realities: First, (i) Cameroon chose the economic model basedsolely on public financing second, (ii) some countries in Europe have opted either for the economic model based on bank loans or the one based on public financing and finally, (iii) a third group of countries that have opted for a hybrid economic model based on a mixture of bank loans and partial or total use of public financing.