Hung Wong

Social Polarisation and Poverty in the Global City

Unlike the poverty in the developing world which is more likely associated with undevelopment or underdevelopment of industrial capitalism, the new poverty in advanced cities is induced by the development of a new phase of capitalism that goes beyond industrial capitalism and emphasises the role of knowledge, information, global networks and global finance for capital accumulation and profit generation. This new phase of capitalism represents a transformation from country-based economic systems to city-based ones. Hong Kong as a global city is no exception to this trend. Most of the big advanced cities around the globe are witnessing increasing inequalities of income, job opportunities and job securities, and are turning into ‘divided’ or ‘dual’ cities. In these divided global cities, a new group of marginalised urban poor or ‘underclass’ emerges, and new regimes of urban marginality are established. This article is about the poor and the low-income earning marginalised workers in Hong Kong. Following the social polarisation thesis advanced by Sassen, this article will review the current literature and official statistics to portray and examine the trends of poverty and inequalities in Hong Kong. Then we will attempt to explain how low-skilled and less-educated workers are marginalised and trapped in a vicious cycle of low income and poverty. Specifically, we will draw insights from Esping-Andersens discussion of a post-industrial stratification order, which combines both the Fordist industrial and post-industrial hierarchies in advanced Western countries to analyse the Hong Kong situation. Our article shows that social polarisation, in its narrowest definition of absolute income polarisation and the disappearing middle, does not happen in Hong Kong. However, there are serious problems on income inequality: a low-income-poverty trap against the lower class, and the spatial and economic segregation towards migrant groups.

Outcome-based health equity across different social health insurance schemes for the elderly in China

BackgroundAgainst the achievement of nearly universal coverage for social health insurance for the elderly in China, a problem of inequity among different insurance schemes on health outcomes is still a big challenge for the health care system. Whether various health insurance schemes have divergent effects on health outcome is still a puzzle. Empirical evidence will be investigated in this study.MethodsThis study employs a nationally representative survey database, the National Survey of the Aged Population in Urban/Rural China, to compare the changes of health outcomes among the elderly before and after the reform. A one-way ANOVA is utilized to detect disparities in health care expenditures and health status among different health insurance schemes. Multiple Linear Regression is applied later to examine the further effects of different insurance plans on health outcomes while controlling for other social determinants.ResultsThe one-way ANOVA result illustrates that although the gaps in insurance reimbursements between the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) and the other schemes, the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS) and Urban Residents Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) decreased, out-of-pocket spending accounts for a larger proportion of total health care expenditures, and the disparities among different insurances enlarged. Results of the Multiple Linear Regression suggest that UEBMI participants have better self-reported health status, physical functions and psychological wellbeing than URBMI and NCMS participants, and those uninsured. URBMI participants report better self-reported health than NCMS ones and uninsured people, while having worse psychological wellbeing compared with their NCMS counterparts.ConclusionsThis research contributes to a transformation in health insurance studies from an emphasis on the opportunity-oriented health equity measured by coverage and healthcare accessibility to concern with outcome-based equity composed of health expenditure and health status. The results indicate that fragmented health insurance schemes generate inequitable health care utilization and health outcomes for the elderly. This study re-emphasizes the importance of reforming health insurance systems based on their health outcome rather than entitlement, which will particularly benefit the most vulnerable older groups.

The Quality of Life of Hong Kong's Poor Households in the 1990s: Levels of Expenditure, Income Security and Poverty

This paper examines the changes in the quality of life of poor households in Hong Kong in the late 1990s by analyzing their levels of expenditure, income security and poverty before and after 1997. Though there have been significant increases in the levels of expenditure among CSSA recipients, the expenditure among these poorest households in Hong Kong is still below that of non-CSSA recipients. Increasing poverty in Hong Kong is the result of increasing housing costs borne by these low expenditure households, who have to squeeze their expenditure on food and other items in order to meet the rising cost of housing. De-industrialisation and mass unemployment have given capital and the state unchecked authority to restructure the economy and to deregulate the labour market. Many low-income households have been hit hard as they faced redundancy, unemployment and wage-cuts after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. What jobs have been created are mostly part-time, temporary and contract jobs, and there has thus been an erosion in both job and income security. The quality of life of poor households is devastating not only in the sense that their living standards are low, but also that they are socially excluded from the mainstream of society.

Barriers Militating Against the Social Inclusion of Low-Income Pakistani Minority Groups in Hong Kong

Research findings from an ethnographic study into low-income Pakistani families in Hong Kong indicate the existence of significant barriers in society militating against social inclusion. Racial discrimination contributes to marginalization, reducing life opportunities. Identified problems include educational, linguistic, and employment issues. These factors lead to social exclusion and weakened social capital.

Community reactions to the SARS Crisis in Hong Kong : Analysis of a time-limited counseling hotline

ABSTRACT This paper is based on an analysis of the calls to a time-limited hotline specifically set up in response to the SARS crisis in Hong Kong in 2003. The findings of the study indicate that the arena and level of concern raised by the hotline callers are associated with the situation of the callers and the developmental phase of the disaster. The authors call for welfare service organizations to adopt a differential service focus for different phases of disaster development, when they are confronted with similar public health hazards in the future. The study also identifies the special role played by women in containing the epidemic, and suggests more gender sensitive intervention planning in addressing the needs of women in their gate-keeping and care-giving roles during an epidemic.

Living environment and quality of life in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT Population growth and urbanization have resulted in the emergence of mega cities in recent decades. While compact urban fabrics and high residential density imply intensive interactions between man and environment, the living environment may be one of the most important factors affecting quality of life (QOL) of city dwellers. With this in mind, this paper seeks to understand the manners in which the residents relate themselves to the places they live and how they derive neighborhood and QOL, in such way that the relationship between living environment and QOL can be understood. A random telephone survey (N = 1,114) was conducted in Hong Kong. Results showed that different levels of neighborhood satisfaction varied in residents of different housing types and living environment was a significant predictor of resident’s QOL. Other than the architecture of housing, this paper highlights the importance of services and facilities for the development of social relations and community building. This paper may supplement to the Western QOL studies and provide reference for urban planning initiatives for Asian cities.

Associations between economic loss, financial strain and the psychological status of Wenchuan earthquake survivors

This study examines the effects of economic loss on the life satisfaction and mental health of Wenchuan earthquake survivors. Economic loss is measured by earthquake impacts on the income and houses of the survivors. The correlation analysis shows that earthquake impact on income is significantly correlated with life satisfaction and depression. The regression analyses indicate that earthquake impact on income is indirectly associated with life satisfaction and depression through its effect on financial strain. The research highlights the importance of coping strategies in maintaining a balance between economic status and living demands for disaster survivors.

Human capital, social capital and social exclusion: impacts on the opportunity of households with youth to leave poverty.

Based on a sample survey, this paper, analyzes the impact of human capital, social capital and social exclusion on the opportunity of Hong Kong families with youth members to leave poverty. Educational attainment of the youth members and adult family members, as well as the quantity and quality of social networks were found to have significant positive impacts, while social exclusion from the labor market of the adult members was found to have significant negative impact on their opportunity to leave poverty. Among all factors, quality of social network is the most influential. The author suggests that in order to help families out of poverty and enable positive development of youth members, poverty alleviation policies or programs should be targeted to help the youth in poor families to build up a quality social network.

Deprivation is associated with worse physical and mental health beyond income poverty: a population-based household survey among Chinese adults

PurposeIn studying health inequality, poverty as measured by income is frequently used; however, this omits the aspects of non-monetary resources and social barriers to achieving improved living standard. Therefore, our study aimed to examine the associations of individual-level deprivation of material and social necessities with general physical and mental health beyond that of income poverty.MethodsA territory-wide two-stage stratified random sample of 2282 community-dwelling Hong Kong adults was surveyed between 2014 and 2015. Income poverty and a Deprivation Index were used as the main independent variables. General health was assessed using the validated 12-item Short-Form Health Survey version 2, from which physical component summary and mental component summary were derived.ResultsOur results in multivariable ordinal logistic regressions consistently showed that, after adjusting for income poverty, socio-demographic and lifestyle factors, being deprived was significantly associated with worse physical (OR 1.66; CI 1.25–2.20) and mental health (OR 1.83; CI 1.43–2.35). Being income poor was also significantly associated with worse mental health (OR 1.63; CI 1.28–2.09) but only marginally with physical health (OR 1.34; CI 1.00–1.80) after adjustments.ConclusionsIncome does not capture all aspects of poverty that are associated with adverse health outcomes. Deprivation of non-monetary resources has an independent effect on general health above and beyond the effect of income poverty. Policies should move beyond endowment and take into account the multidimensionality of poverty, in order to address the problem of health inequality.

Signposting disadvantage – social exclusion in Hong Kong

Concern over high and persistent levels of poverty and inequality have focused attention on the broader issue of social disadvantage in Hong Kong. The social exclusion framework provides a new perspective that shifts the focus away from purely economic causes to the social processes that prevent people from participating, although conceptual and definitional ambiguities present conceptual and practical challenges to empirical research on exclusion. This paper presents results from a comprehensive survey that allows the extent and nature of social exclusion in Hong Kong to be estimated for the first time. Attention focuses on examining the broad profile of exclusion, and on the association between social exclusion and a series of indicators of subjective well-being (SWB). The overlap between social exclusion and poverty is also examined, the results showing that the two are different and are associated with different levels of well-being.