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b'Ghost cities full of empty apartment blocks are evidence of the central government\\u2019s failure to slow booming house construction in the People\\u2019s Republic of China.\\n\\nConflicting incentives for local government officials, and a lack of alternative investments in China, have meant even the toughest of restrictions haven\\u2019t been able to stop developers building ever more houses. \\n\\nThe housing industry is a big part of China\\u2019s economy. Real estate accounts for one-sixth of its GDP, a quarter of total fixed asset investment, 14% of urban employment, and 20% of bank loans. \\n\\nResearch done for the Asian Development Bank Institute finds that the central government has maintained a firm hand on the sector for the 20 years or so since widespread property ownership was first permitted. \\n\\nXiaping Cao of Lingnan College, Sun Yat-sen University, Bihong Huang of the Asian Development Bank Institute, and Rose Neng Lai of the University of Macau argued such a policy loosens or tightens various control measures depending on whether the government wants more or less growth in the sector.\\n\\nRead the transcript\\nhttps://bit.ly/2GXTvrb\\n\\nRead the report\\nhttps://www.adb.org/publications/impact-exogenous-demand-shock-housing-market-evidence-prc\\n\\nAbout the authors\\nXiaping Cao is associate professor of finance at Lingnan College, Sun Yat-sen University.\\nBihong Huang is a research fellow at the Asian Development Bank Institute.\\nRose Neng Lai is a professor of finance at the University of Macau.\\n\\nKnow more about ADBI\\u2019s work on housing\\nhttps://www.adb.org/adbi/research/housing-policy\\nhttps://bit.ly/2seqsuK'