Public Perceptions of Income Inequality in Hong Kong: trends, causes and implications

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 perceiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of contemporary China Vol. 18; no. 61; pp. 657 - 673
Main Authors Wong, Timothy K. Y., Wan, Po-San, Law, Kenneth W. K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.09.2009
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Disadvantaged
Government
Hong Kong
Income Inequality
Individual differences
Perceptions
Political society
Politics
Poverty
Public Opinion
Social change
Social conditions & trends
Hong Kong
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Summary: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.
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ISSN:1067-0564
1469-9400
DOI:10.1080/10670560903033950