Title
Widening income distribution in post-handover Hong Kong
Document Type
Book
Publication Date
1-1-2013
Publisher
Taylor and Francis
Abstract
Before the handover to China in 1997, Hong Kong’s economic growth was very strong and the unemployment rate dropped to a record low of 2.2 per cent. In recent years, the widening income dispersion in Hong Kong has caught public attention. This book investigates the economic development and changes in income distribution of Hong Kong from different perspectives.
Based on latest empirical evidence of Hong Kong, the book examines the relationship between economic restructuring and rising income disparity. Public housing programmes in Hong Kong affect half of the population directly and the other half indirectly. This book assesses the redistributive effect of public rental housing on income distribution. Moreover, Hong Kong embarked an ambitious expansion programme of tertiary education in 1989. The expansion represents an exogenous increase in the supply of university graduates and the book evaluates the impact on income distribution. It also investigates the income dispersion among and between natives and immigrants.
Researchers, politicians and policy makers should be interested to learn about the causes of rising income dispersion in post-handover Hong Kong uncovered in this book. Although economic restructuring is named as the prime suspect that caused rising income inequality, the empirical evidence proves otherwise. The book will be of interest to policy makers with implications on social security system and income disparity.
DOI
10.4324/9780203366158
ISBN
9780415517805
Publisher Statement
Copyright © Hon-Kwong Lui 2013. Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.
Full-text Version
Publisher’s Version
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Lui, H.-K. (2013). Widening income distribution in post-handover Hong Kong. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. doi: 10.4324/9780203366158
