Income and Wealth Inequality in Hong Kong, 1981–2020: The Rise of Pluto-Communism?

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to better understand the evolution and institutional roots of Hong Kong's growing economic inequality and political cleavages. By combining multiple sources of data (household surveys, fiscal data, wealth rankings, national accounts) and methodological innovations, two main findings are obtained. First, he evidence suggests a very large rise in income and wealth inequality in Hong Kong over the last four decades. Second, based on the latest opinion poll data, business elites, who carry disproportionate weight in Hong Kong's Legislative Council, are found to be more likely to vote for the pro-establishment camp (presumably to ensure that policies are passed that protect their political and economic interests). This paper argues that the unique alliance of government and business elites in a partially democratic political system is the plausible institutional root of Hong Kong's rising inequality and political cleavages.

Do people feel they belong? Socio‐political factors shaping the place attachment of Hong Kong citizens

“…On the other hand, we stress that while inequality perceptions were not significantly correlated with place attachment, it does not mean this factor is not practically significant. In fact, inequalities of income and wealth are longstanding issues in Hong Kong and arguably worsening (Piketty & Yang, 2022; Wong, 2020) and that a strong majority of our respondents find it a serious matter (over 50% strongly agree with another 30% agree). Our results merely indicate that place attachment is perhaps more of a socio‐political concept (affected by identity, views of the legal system, etc.)…”

Wealth and Property Taxation in the United States

“…We can provide measures at the city, county, and state levels. 2 A body of work has constructed wealth estimates for other countries for more recent periods (typically starting in the 70s or later): Acciari, Alvaredo and Morelli (2021) for Italy; Piketty and Yang (2022) for Hong-Kong;Charalampidis (2018) for Greece; Alvaredo, Assouad and Piketty (2019) for the Middle-East;and Piketty, Yang and Zucman (2019) for China. Longer-run estimates include Katic and Leigh (2016) for Australia 1915Australia -2012Novokmet, Piketty and Zucman (2018) for Russia 1905Russia -2016Toussaint, de Vicq and Moatsos (2022) for the Netherlands 1854-2019; Albers, Bartels and Schularick (2022) for Germany 1895and Blanco, Bauluz and Martínez-Toledano (2021) for Spain 1900-2017.…”