The construction of investor-subjects in a housing-led growth society: the case of Hong Kong

Abstract

The question of how investor-subjects are constructed in a financialized society is rarely examined by empirical data in the literature of financialization. This study examines the role of perception of housing in the culture of financialization, with the data of a population survey in Hong Kong (N = 1,020), a financialized society with growth mainly driven by property. This research reveals that the perceived importance of investment in improving livelihood, and the perception of investment as a speculative activity, have led people to feel pessimistic toward the future, and have less faith in upward social mobility. However, this feeling of precarity can be relieved by perceiving homeownership as the most secure form of investment. This research’s findings can shed light on how people can overcome the feeling of precarity in a financialized society, and how the ideology of housing supports people to be investors-subjects.