2009
Journal Article
Society and Demographic Transition › Social Inequalities
Wong, T. K. Y., Wan, P. S., & Law, K. W. K. (2009). Public perceptions of income inequality in Hong Kong: Trends, causes, and implications. Journal of Contemporary China, 18(61), 657–673.
Hong Kong Income Inequality
This article examines the patterns and changes in public perceptions of domestic income inequality in Hong Kong in the past two decades and explains individual variations in these perceptions. It found that the perceived seriousness of income disparities had been persistently high, while the perceived unjustness of income disparities showed a fluctuating trend. Our findings lent partial support to the structural position thesis that the privileged groups are less likely than the underprivileged groups to consider existing income disparities to be serious and unjust. Nonetheless, the popular understanding of poverty is still biased towards ‘individual’ explanations, and this perhaps explains why the government is less willing to tackle the economic and political foundations of poverty in Hong Kong.