Yue Chim Richard Wong
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9789888390625
- eISBN:
- 9789888390373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888390625.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
The contribution of recent immigrants to income dispersion has grown slightly. This reflects the fact that their numbers have been rising over time and that they tend to have a higher proportion of ...
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The contribution of recent immigrants to income dispersion has grown slightly. This reflects the fact that their numbers have been rising over time and that they tend to have a higher proportion of lower-productivity individuals. Immigration policy is of course another form of human capital investment policy. In a free society, the decision to emigrate is an individual right over which government should not exercise control. But in Hong Kong, government policy decides who is allowed to emigrate here. Family reunion cases are also related to human rights, although what constitutes family is subject to policy delineation. To sum up, then, the increase in individual income dispersion is primarily affected by education. Other factors contribute, too, but none is as significant. Education policy must therefore be at the center of efforts to tackle the rising inequality in individual incomes. This sets up the analysis understand what underlies the rise of household income dispersion over this period.Less
The contribution of recent immigrants to income dispersion has grown slightly. This reflects the fact that their numbers have been rising over time and that they tend to have a higher proportion of lower-productivity individuals. Immigration policy is of course another form of human capital investment policy. In a free society, the decision to emigrate is an individual right over which government should not exercise control. But in Hong Kong, government policy decides who is allowed to emigrate here. Family reunion cases are also related to human rights, although what constitutes family is subject to policy delineation. To sum up, then, the increase in individual income dispersion is primarily affected by education. Other factors contribute, too, but none is as significant. Education policy must therefore be at the center of efforts to tackle the rising inequality in individual incomes. This sets up the analysis understand what underlies the rise of household income dispersion over this period.
Yue Chim Richard Wong
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9789888390625
- eISBN:
- 9789888390373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888390625.003.0020
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
Individual income inequality has worsened because of underinvestment in education. A child born today with a good “birth lottery” is worth more than one born into the same family circumstances in the ...
More
Individual income inequality has worsened because of underinvestment in education. A child born today with a good “birth lottery” is worth more than one born into the same family circumstances in the past, because their education will have a higher rate of return. Intergenerational upward mobility measured in schooling opportunities was largely unchanged for those born in the period 1956–1991. However, a subset born in the period 1961–1976 saw improved opportunities due to the waves of emigration Hong Kong experienced due to political unrest and uncertainty. Many policy advocates have used rising income inequality measures to push for income redistribution. But this merely tries to fix the measures of income inequality. Redistribution will not halt the underlying forces that are driving a more unequal distribution of incomes over time. Rising inequality can only be prevented by expanding education opportunities and encouraging couples to stay together.Less
Individual income inequality has worsened because of underinvestment in education. A child born today with a good “birth lottery” is worth more than one born into the same family circumstances in the past, because their education will have a higher rate of return. Intergenerational upward mobility measured in schooling opportunities was largely unchanged for those born in the period 1956–1991. However, a subset born in the period 1961–1976 saw improved opportunities due to the waves of emigration Hong Kong experienced due to political unrest and uncertainty. Many policy advocates have used rising income inequality measures to push for income redistribution. But this merely tries to fix the measures of income inequality. Redistribution will not halt the underlying forces that are driving a more unequal distribution of incomes over time. Rising inequality can only be prevented by expanding education opportunities and encouraging couples to stay together.
