SOSC 103D Social Inequality in HK Lecture 8: Hong Kong Dream

L8: Social Mobility in Hong Kong Recapture the Main Findings: 1.Open and Mobile –High mobility rate (net rate = 53.6%) 2.Change of economic and occupational structure –Structural mobility rate = 23.1% An expansion of professional, managerial and administrative posts (class I and II) A vast shrinkage of the small shop-owners (and self- employed artisans)

L8: Hong Kong Dream Social belief: –Abundant opportunities for upward mobility –One’s efforts and abilities are keys of success A product of collective mobility experience Implications: –Optimistic & Social Stability

L8: Inequality in Social Mobility Mobility Chance: This is a question about the equality of opportunity Given the available opportunities, do people from different backgrounds have an equal chance of improving their social position?

L8: Outflow statistics Where have people (the sons) gone?

L8: Upper and upper-middle class: –Self-recruitment (45.2%) –The fathers are able to ensure their sons to stay in the advantaged social positions. –The children of these managers and professionals are very likely to remain in the social position as their fathers Working class: –Retention (49.6%) –The fathers are unable to push their sons to leave the disadvantaged social positions. –The children of manual labour (skilled to unskilled labour) are very unlikely to leave the working class.

L8: Inflow statistics Where are these people (the sons) from?

L8: Upper and upper-middle class: –Heterogeneous –Most of those who are now in advantaged positions are newcomers. –People who are in high social positions actually come from different class origins. Working class: –Homogeneous –About half of those who are now in disadvantaged positions are actually born in disadvantaged families. –Great majority of them have fathers from either working class or lower-middle class.

L8: Q: Is your present job just a means for earning a living, or does it mean much more to you than that?

L8: Q: Some people say that if the boss is to make a profit, he has to exploit his worker. Do you agree?

L8: Hong Kong Dream?! Main Observations: Alongside the openness, there is also some rigidity  Alongside the optimistic view, are there stress and frustrations? How about nowadays Hong Kong?

L8: Readings: Wong, T & Lui, T.L. (1992) Reinstating Class: a Structural and Development Study of Hong Kong Society. Occasional Paper no.10. Hong Kong: Social Sciences Research Center, HKU. P.48-81