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This paper studies the extent to which economic policy uncertainty shocks in major economies affect real economic activity in small open economies. We use Hong Kong as a case study. Following Baker, Bloom and Davis (2016), we construct a newspaper‐based economic policy uncertainty index for Hong Kong for the period 1998 to 2016. We estimate international spillovers of uncertainty and find large spillovers of uncertainty from major economies to Hong Kong. Furthermore, using a structural vector autoregressive approach, we show that a rise in domestic economic policy uncertainty leads to tight financial conditions, and lower investment and vacancy posting, dampening domestic output growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the construction of wavelet coherence analysis and frequency-domain spillover framework, this paper makes a comparative study of the volatility spillover effects of international economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on China's Shanghai and Hong Kong stock market from a time-frequency perspective. To fully reflect the international EPU, this paper selects China, the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom and uses the monthly EPU index of these countries and regions. China chooses China's EPU index and Hong Kong's EPU index. At the same time, the 5-minute high-frequency volatility of the Shanghai Composite Index (SSEC) and the Hang Seng Index (HSI) is selected to represent the Shanghai and Hong Kong's stock market, respectively. It is found that there are obvious differences between the EPU and the dependence of the stock market in time domain and frequency domain, and the lead-lag relationship between them has time-varying characteristics. Static and dynamic spillover effects play a dominant role in the analysis of medium- and long-term spillover effects. In particular, the EPU and the risk spillover of the Hong Kong stock market are stronger than those of the Shanghai stock market, and the dynamic frequency-domain net risk spillover between them has frequency characteristics, and there are two-way and asymmetric risk spillovers. This provides a certain reference for policy makers to improve the safety management of financial markets and for market investors to optimize their portfolios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We extend the notion of globalized robustness to consider distributional information beyond the support of the ambiguous probability distribution. We propose the globalized distributionally robust counterpart that disallows any (respectively, allows limited) constraint violation for distributions residing (respectively, not residing) in the ambiguity set. By varying its inputs, our proposal recovers several existing perceptions of parameter uncertainty. Focusing on the type 1 Wasserstein distance, we show that the globalized distributionally robust counterpart has an insightful interpretation in terms of shadow price of globalized robustness, and it can be seamlessly integrated with many popular optimization models under uncertainty without incurring any extra computational cost. Such computational attractiveness also holds for other ambiguity sets, including the ones based on probability metric, optimal transport, ϕ-divergences, or moment conditions, as well as the event-wise ambiguity set. Numerical studies on an adaptive network lot-sizing problem demonstrate the modeling flexibility of our proposal and its emphases on globalized robustness to constraint violation. History: Antonio Frangioni, Area Editor for Design & Analysis of Algorithms—Continuous. Funding: Z. Chen was supported by [General Research Fund Grant 9043424, NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme N_CityU105/21] from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council. S. Wang was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 71922020, 72171221, and 71988101, entitled "Econometric Modeling and Economic Policy Studies"] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grant UCAS-E2ET0808X2]. Supplemental Material: The software that supports the findings of this study is available within the paper and its Supplemental Information (https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/suppl/10.1287/ijoc.2022.0274) as well as from the IJOC GitHub software repository (https://github.com/INFORMSJoC/2022.0274). The complete IJOC Software and Data Repository is available at https://informsjoc.github.io/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Third Plague Pandemic in Asia during the 1890s, and the institutional stresses it produced, exposed inherent vulnerabilities within the global networks that sustained the British Empire. While commercial and informational routes meshed disparate imperial dominions, they also functioned as pathways for disease and conduits of panic, undermining imperial commerce and threatening social order. Focusing in particular on the 1894 outbreak of bubonic plague in Hong Kong, the paper suggests that an analysis of a ‘local’ epidemic episode and its wider reverberations provides a new perspective on the often heated debates during the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries about the meaning and scope of empire in relation to new communication networks. The paper shows how expanding global networks were construed alternatively as sustaining and jeopardising imperial power. The bubonic plague in Hong Kong—a hub of ‘free trade’ in East Asia—and the panicked reactions elicited by the disease's diffusion westwards revealed the economic priorities that informed colonial public health concerns as well as the challenges posed to laissez-faire economic policy and ‘free trade’ by the expanding influence of capital in the ‘New Imperialism’. In so doing, the paper suggests that contemporary preoccupations with ‘globalisation’, ‘biosecurity’ and ‘emerging diseases’ have antecedents that lie beyond the Second World War and the interwar period in a late-nineteenth-century imperial biopolitics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the operation and impact of the moratorium on new banking licences imposed in Hong Kong in 1965 and the claims that foreign banks destabilised the banking system and drained resources from the colony. First it examines foreign banks' attempts to circumvent the moratorium through claims of special circumstances and buying interests in local banks, and secondly it examines the efforts of incumbents to extend barriers to non-bank financial institutions and to branches of foreign banks. The general conclusions are that while the moratorium was aimed at increasing the stability of the banking system, it had the effect of decreasing the regulatory breadth of the government, and reducing incentives for mergers and acquisitions that might have improved governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comparison in the changes of Hong Kong macroeconomic fundamental variables before and after its currency was 'pegged' to the US dollar in October 1983. Using a simple method from Flood and Rose (1995) and Baxter and Stockman (1989), this paper compares the volatilities of all aggregate variables used by those investigators in so far as these data are available for Hong Kong. The results show, contrary to the dominating empirical literature for the G-7 countries, that the volatilities of more than half of the nominal and real variables under the float are significantly higher than those under the link. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews Beijing's Hong Kong policy, arguing that the policy mirrors China's policy towards its restive borderlands represented by Tibet and Xinjiang. The rule of Hong Kong and other borderlands in China will be understood in an analytical framework that highlights four broad policies of governing borderlands: promises of a high degree of local autonomy; extension of politico-administrative control; cultural assimilation; and economic integration and domination. These policies may be conceptualised within the term "coercion." It is argued that before Hong Kong's retrocession to China in 1997, the PRC's approach to the territory, in comparison to its approaches to Tibet and Xinjiang, was the least coercive - that is, China initially promised Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy over domestic affairs. The degree of coercion was stepped up when Hongkongers were perceived as becoming increasingly alienated from the new regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores strategic hybridization in Jeffrey Lau's four films, which reinterpret the classic Journey to the West, and analyses Hong Kong-mainland film co-productions from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s. Adopting a media industries perspective, it examines how strategic hybridization navigates economic pressures and policy environments influencing production decisions, creative choices, and industrial imperatives. The study illustrates that strategic hybridization is not merely a consequence of co-production but a deliberate strategy reflecting the collaborative dynamics between Hong Kong and the mainland, contributing to an increasingly integrated and mainland-centric co-production model. By analyzing strategic decisions across industrial and production dimensions, the article underscores the impact of policy interventions, cross-cultural collaboration, and financial factors in shaping co-production models. The evolution of co-productions is further demonstrated through a detailed look at Lau's films, suggesting that strategic hybridization serves as a set of adaptive strategies fostering a symbiotic, albeit mainland-centric, relationship between the two film industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing policy attention to financial crimes, theoretical discussions about the policies that the state has pursued to deal with this problem have been lacking. This paper develops a theoretical framework to understand the politics of financial crimes. It argues that policy efforts against financial crimes pursued by the state can be explained with reference to the financialization of the global economy and the quest for global competitiveness. At the same time, these global forces are mediated by the dynamics of domestic politics, which determines the pace and the scope of financial regulation. This paper then applies this theoretical framework to explain the differences between Hong Kong and Singapore in their efforts to deal with financial crimes. The difference in terms of their regulatory thrusts in financial affairs relates to their divergent economic ideologies. The final part of this paper highlights the key challenges that Shanghai is facing in dealing with financial crimes with reference to the relevant historical experiences of Hong Kong and Singapore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the development of Hong Kong's cultural economy and its translation into urban space. On the one hand it focuses on recent economic development and planning strategies to develop a post-colonial identity based on the international cachet of attracting creative industries. On the other hand, it considers the development of grassroots initiatives that herald the potential articulation of Hong Kong as a culturally dense global city. These grassroots initiatives are analyzed from the perspective of their problematic relationship with urban space, and how urban planning both supports and hinders cultural development. The paper argues that top-down planning is in large part catalytic, yet at the same time can run counter to the development of genuine artistic expression. It stresses the importance of ‘middleground’ actors in facilitating the development of spaces for artistic creation, particularly in their productive interlocking with different forms of artistic expression and public policy initiatives. The middleground can be conceived of as a relational space produced by various processes, actors and structures operating at different scales between institutional actors and the interests of ‘underground’ creativity. The article concludes by problematizing the role of middleground actors and underlines the value of ‘unpacking’ the middleground in order to account for the contested and negotiated processes it embodies. Renewed attention to these processes will contribute to enhancing the development of sites of artistic expression in Hong Kong and other emergent contemporary contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the leadership of Chief Executive C.Y. Leung who took office to govern Hong Kong in July 2012 under China's political framework of “One Country, Two Systems.” As Hong Kong enters into a new period of politics in the process of democratization, there are several major political tasks that the Hong Kong chief executive must handle. These include the search for a consensus on the methods of electing the chief executive in 2017 on the basis of universal suffrage; the response to the call for reforming the Legislative Council in 2016 to prepare for the election of the whole Legislative Council through direct election in 2020; the resolution of conflicts between China and Hong Kong. It is therefore significant and timely to evaluate Leung's leadership so as to project Hong Kong's political development in the remaining four years under his leadership. This paper argues that Leung's leadership stresses “incremental development” based on the status quo, a “reflector model” of governance, “transactional mediation,” and a “role-determined leadership.” In the context of the existing Beijing–Hong Kong power relationship and Leung's conservative political outlook, it is a matter of doubt whether Leung's leadership can effectively withstand the political challenges ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hong Kong's domestic economy has been through a roller coaster ride over the past decade. In early 2004, increasing the number of holidays as a strategy to boost domestic consumption was mooted. In this paper, we estimate the effect of holidays on private domestic consumption in Hong Kong. We do this by estimating both the long term and short-term consumption functions. Our estimates suggest that an additional day holiday per quarter would increase private consumption expenditure (PCE) by HKD 213 on a per capita basis. Although an extra day holiday could add 0.34% to GDP, policy makers should also consider the possible costs (e.g. cost of unproductive) of such a policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically assesses the discourse of electricity market liberalization in Hong Kong, China and makes policy recommendations from an environmental perspective. For both economic and environmental reasons, local advocates urge for an immediate opening of the electricity market currently monopolized by two private companies. Their neglect of the fact that a competitive green power market is a function of adequate public support in the form of market demand may place the environmental agenda at a disadvantage. Given that environmental issues are yet a dominant concern in this growth-oriented economy, a new facilitative role of the government is of particular importance to prevent the market from being dominated by short-term, rational economic behaviours. Mild changes with an emphasis of a transformation in the roles of different players, which the government is hesitant to initiate, are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) at the beginning of 2004 and, more recently, CEPA-2 has provided a framework for increased business development in the Pearl River Delta area of China and the Special Administrative Regions of Macau and Hong Kong. In particular, the introduction of CEPA may lead to a significant increase in trade between Hong Kong and the neighbouring Guangdong Province. This paper examines the economic context into which the CEPA provisions have been implemented from an international perspective and it contains an assessment of relevant business development issues, particularly the case of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in mainland China and Hong Kong. Wider issues for direct investment and the role of Hong Kong are also assessed. Experience with the implementation of free trade and associated market developments in other parts of the world is included but it is suggested that such models are of limited use in assessing economic development in the Pan Pearl River Delta Area. It seems that models derived from local practice will be more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since colonial times to the present day, Hong Kong's position as a global financial centre is one of the enduring economic strengths of the territory. This success is often attributed to the distinctive role of the state, coined in the 1970s by the-then financial secretary, Sir Philip Haddon-Cave, as “positive non-interventionism.” The relationship between the market and the state has also been characterized as a form of corporatism, particularly in the financial sector as bankers were able to influence policy. However, closer examination of the behind-the-scenes relations between bankers and the state reveals a much more complex relationship, with the banks seeking protection that the government was not willing to provide. Moreover, the reluctance to regulate financial markets resulted in piecemeal interventions and weak implementation that undermined the stability of this sector and of the economy as a whole. This paper demonstrates the confusion over the concept and practicalities of positive non-interventionism, even for Haddon-Cave, and how the concept evolved towards a policy of “when in doubt, do nothing” during a period of financial instability. Along the way, the paper presents new evidence about the origins of Hong Kong's current banking structure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hong Kong drivers face daily congestion, especially at the Cross Harbor Tunnel (CHT) whose tolls are substantially lower than those of the drivers’ other two tunnel options: the Eastern Harbor Crossing (EHC) and the Western Harbor Crossing (WHC). In 2013, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government issued a consultation paper, seeking public comments on three toll-change proposals that would raise the CHT’s tolls and lower the EHC’s tolls. The WHC’s tolls would remain unchanged due to its congested connecting roads. Using monthly crossing data available from the HKSAR’s Transport Department for 2000–2012, this paper uses a Generalized Leontief demand system to document that the usage patterns of the three tunnels is price-responsive. Hence, we conclude that the proposed toll changes are likely to be effective in transportation demand management, by shifting a portion of the CHT’s usage to the EHC and WHC, thereby relieving the CHT’s congestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the chronological analytical review regarding municipal solid waste management (MSWM) and governance optimisation progress in Hong Kong since 2002, it is noted that the policy outcomes have seriously deviated from the original policy goals under the hitherto lack of effective development in bureaucratic and economic policy cultures in municipal solid waste (MSW) strategies formulation and related programmes implementation. The policy analysis specially stated that although the MSW recycling ratio (30%) is not particularly poor, the recovered percentage of plastics, glass and food waste in Hong Kong are extremely low. Based on the unfavourable outcomes and consequences for MSWM and governance in Hong Kong, a conclusion of negative correlation between the per capita MSW disposal rate and bureaucratic policy culture development, as well as positive correlation between recycling rate of low value items and economic policy culture development, can be made. With considering the key factors of benchmark indicators, socio-economic factors, driving force, and communication of MSW policy, conducive options and prospects are also developed for the attempt to provide insights to restructure MSWM and governance in Hong Kong in the next decade. First, the government can build up strategic innovation from a global benchmark case – MSWM and governance improvement from the South Korea case. Second, to create opportunities and conditions to develop high value biofuel from waste through flexible local environmental policies formulation and implementation. Third, shifting a front-line MSWM for governance structure reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a number of ports in Hong Kong and mainland China are grouped and the concentration ratio and Herfindahl-Hirschman index of the container throughputs are calculated to analyze the changes in the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong. By tracing the trajectory of the barycenter of the standard deviation ellipse of the annual container throughputs, we can analyze whether port transportation is shifting away from Hong Kong towards mainland China. The impacts of underlying policies of mainland China and Hong Kong on the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong are also revealed. The analyses show that the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong has experienced three development stages: rapid growth from the 1970s-1990s, solid growth from 2000 to 2005, and sluggish growth from 2006 to 2015. • The concentration ratio and Herfindahl-Hirschman index of the container throughputs are analyzed for a port group consisting Hong Kong port and a number of ports in mainland China. • The growth and down of the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong are described. • The impacts of underlying policies of mainland China and Hong Kong on the port and shipping industry in Hong Kong are revealed. • It is found that port transportation is shifting away from Hong Kong towards mainland China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a modelling framework for evaluating the exchange rate dynamics of a target zone regime with undisclosed bands. We generalize the literature to allow for asymmetric one-sided regimes. Market participants' beliefs concerning an undisclosed band change as they learn more about central bank intervention policy. We apply the model to Hong Kong's one-sided currency board mechanism. In autumn 2003, the Hong Kong dollar appreciated from close to 7.80 per US dollar to 7.70, as investors feared that the currency board would be abandoned. In the wake of this appreciation, the monetary authorities finally revamped the regime as a symmetric two-sided system with a narrow exchange rate band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2011, Hong Kong SAR government announced an unprecedented policy of cash handouts of 6,000 HKD to all permanent residents at the age of 18 or above as a means of defusing public discontent with economic policy and poor governance. Macau SAR has also been distributing similar cash handouts since 2008 to temper public dissatisfaction and widespread demonstrations. Initially, both SAR governments were very reluctant to initiate universal cash handouts. Unlike standard welfare programmes that are budgeted for annually, the cash payment scheme in Hong Kong SAR was a one-off handout. In Macau SAR, however, the payment scheme went from being a short-term policy to a long-term policy, while other welfare programmes were also allocated more public money. This paper argues that although such cash handout policies are avoidable, they are still being adopted by politicians who place self-interest above the public interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) has been the flagship labouratory of Deng Xiaoping’s reform and open-door policy and the forerunner of China’s capitalist transformation. The initiation of the Shenzhen SEZ was driven by the imperative of political and economic survival along the state hierarchy and was informed by the international practices of export processing zones (EPZs). Shenzhen’s capitalist fundamentals, such as the commodification of land and labour, were largely established through imitating its ‘big master’ Hong Kong across the border. However, Shenzhen’s policy learning style has gradually shifted from laissez-faire Hong Kong to authoritarian Singapore, propelled by the aspiration, shared among policy-making party élites across China’s administrative hierarchy, of perpetuating the single-party rule. Theoretically, this paper demonstrates how policy mobility is shaped path-dependently by the pre-structured institutional/ideological regime, in what ways the idiosyncratic geographical/historical conjuncture matters, and why political representation and participation are crucial to policy selection and mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper aims to develop an integrated policy index system using a Surface Measure of Overall Performance ( SMOP) approach to comprehensively evaluate and compare the policy input and social output of the retirement payment system in urban and rural China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. With this, a tool may be developed to help insightfully examine the old-age income policies and appropriately, and perhaps theoretically in the future, categorize the types of retirement provisions or social security policies as a whole in the East and West. The results indicate that, particularly in urban China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, a low level of de-familization and medium and high levels of gender equality are the common features of these five pensions in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Furthermore, it is found that the retirement provisions in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan can well be divided into two groups based on the level of pension right protection and illustrate different characteristics between them accordingly. In addition, policy implications and suggestions for further reforms of these retirement payment schemes are elaborated in the light of the findings of this policy index system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the impact of integration with Mainland China on Hong Kong's social development and proposes a class-based argument against the prevailing ethnicity-based argument to explain the problems of social development arising from integration. It argues that a certain class across the boundary has benefited greatly from the economic integration while leaving all the negative externalities unattended. This paper raises a policy question of how to establish a crossboundary redistribution mechanism to deal with this new transboundary class issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In England, the new Companies Act 2006 has replaced the common law derivative action with a new statutory derivative action but does not allow multiple derivative actions. In Hong Kong, a new statutory derivative action has also been introduced, but the common law derivative action is preserved. As in England, multiple derivative actions are also not provided for by statute in Hong Kong. This paper examines whether it was right to abolish the common law derivative action in England and whether such action should be abolished in Hong Kong. It further considers whether multiple derivative actions should be provided for in both jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental performance of Hong Kong's businesses is currently perceived as rather poor. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular are mostly unaware of the environmental impact of their business. Government and professional bodies have recently started to develop various initiatives to improve the SME sector's awareness of environmental and social issues, and external factors such as supply chain requirements, consumer preferences and energy prices are also exerting a growing influence. Based on extensive interviews with representatives of seven key stakeholder groups, this paper explores the effectiveness of such drivers to engage SMEs with environmental change and corporate social responsibility (CSR). It finds that most existing efforts, such as environmental support programmes and award schemes, do not have a great impact on the environmental and social performance of Hong Kong's SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten years after the handover, Hong Kong's media faced multiple pressures. There were few cases of outright prosecution of the media, but there were subtle political and economic pressures. Co-optation of media bosses, fear of losing advertising revenue and media takeovers by pro-Beijing figures brought some of the media into line. This brought editorial shift and self-censorship, as the media systematically shied away from stories that might antagonize Beijing, underplayed negative news for the government and gave the democrats less favourable coverage. Interviews with journalists showed little evidence of ostensible intervention from government officials or media bosses, but newsroom socialization and editorial gatekeeping are effective constraints. The constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press and the moral force of professional ethics lent the media the room to defend and negotiate their freedom, but the pervasive fear induced by the political environment invariably overpowered the resistance and constrained press freedom in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within a framework that connects the various disciplines and key concepts of “urban renewal,” this paper reviews the relevant research publications, as found in the literature going back to 1960 in terms of its: (i) diverse meanings and means; (ii) espoused reasons for government-led urban renewal; and (iii) the notion of holding out. It then discusses the feasible roles the state can play when planning for urban renewal in terms of property rights, which is a dimension of social justice (which has yet to be explored) and an expression of subsidiarity. It will demonstrate these roles in a study on Hong Kong and report a statistical test on the effect of urban renewal on neighbouring properties. It should show that government-led urban renewal in Hong Kong is oriented towards exploiting development potential and infringes on private property rights, while other espoused objectives are secondary. A statistical test will show that government-led urban renewal has not always led to positive externalities, as expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article conceptualizes the financial policy regimes of London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, in the process of comparing and contrasting the sociopolitical relations that exist within the four cities. Based on the data collected from extensive field research, I identify four distinct financial policy regimes. First, a combination of low state intervention and influential industry actors in London reflects a financial policy regime that features dominant industry interest groups. While Hong Kong similarly features low state intervention, its industry actors are not influential. In contrast, financial sector development in Singapore features a ‘cocreation’ of financial policies by a close-knit network of state and industry actors. Lastly, Shanghai’s financial policy regime is largely dominated by state actors from both the central and local levels. By delineating and analyzing the policy regimes of the four international financial centers (IFCs), this article provides the first step toward a clearer and more critical understanding of how sociopolitical relations impact IFC development. In the process, it extends the analysis of IFCs beyond conventional neoliberal understandings of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A new meta-field of 'forensic economics' has begun to emerge, uncovering evidence of hidden behavior in a variety of domains. Examples include teachers cheating on exams, road builders skimping on materials, violations of U.N. sanctions, unnecessary heart surgeries, and racial biases in employment decisions, traffic stops, auto retailing, and even sports judging. In each case, part of the contribution of economic analysis is in uncovering evidence of wrongdoing. Although research questions differ, forensic economic work shares commonalities in approaches and limitations. This article seeks to draw out the common threads, with the hope of stimulating further research across fields. (JEL K13) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the signing of the mutual recognition of higher education qualifications between Hong Kong and China in 2004, the Hong Kong government has introduced several key corresponding initiatives to attract more nonlocal students to Hong Kong, especially Mainland Chinese. The findings in this paper indicate that the dramatic increase in the number of Mainland Chinese students studying in Hong Kong could be highly beneficial to the quality of higher education and human capital in Hong Kong. Since the majority of these Mainland Chinese students are among the best and the brightest--with a high concentration in high-technology and high-growth industries-- they will likely add much to the local workforce and the Hong Kong economy. Concerted efforts and more favourable policies are needed in order to attract, develop, and retain talent so that nonlocal graduates may join the local workforce and contribute to the Hong Kong economy. Policy implications and recommendations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article focuses on the impact of piracy in the economic development of Hong Kong and Shanghai. Piracy and counterfeiting cause significant and measurable harm to the overall economy, directly affecting upstream suppliers and downstream purchasers, with effect that includes lost output, lost earnings, lost jobs, and lost tax revenues. The author also examines the buying behavior, materialism and conformity motivation of consumers in both countries.

Liberalization of electronic commerce is a key leading indicator in the commercial world. A robust system realizing full liberalization is vital to the further development of electronic commerce. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is one of the most prominent and appropriate bodies to investigate the issue of liberalization. The changes made in implementing international standards through the legal and regulatory framework set by the WTO, will be key determinants of the future structure of electronic commerce. Mainland China and Hong Kong, both as members of the WTO, certainly are required to be in compliance with their own commitments. On the other hand, the CEPA is a regional trade agreement concluded between mainland China and Hong Kong as two separate members of the WTO. The sensible decision to follow the international standards through legal and regulatory structure set by the CEPA will no doubt lead the way towards betterment of both sides in developing electronic commerce, whose benefits will in turn extend beyond the economic arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no systematic link in America's international trade law to human rights. While the U.S. includes provisions in its free trade agreements on labor rights, it does not -- in contrast to the European Union -- include human rights clauses in them. Only episodically, and in an ad hoc fashion, does the U.S. respond through its trade laws to human rights issues. One such instance has been American measures taken after China, effective 1 July 2020, imposed its National Security Law on Hong Kong. In this instance, the U.S. has indelibly linked its liberal capitalist values to its import-export measures. This article explores Hong Kong as a case study in the linkage by the U.S. of its trade policy to human rights. It argues that Hong Kong is a useful precedent on which the U.S. should build, indeed, lead. That is true even after the infamous events at the U.S. Capitol of 6 January 2021, a day on which America lost more of its innocence as a young, hopeful nation, and undermined its exceptionalism as a shining light. The rationale for the argument is self-evident. No systematic defense of democracy specifically, or human rights generally, is offered -- or necessary. After all, plenty of such defenses have been made across the centuries. The tale of what happened in Hong Kong, both in fact and in law, provides all the rationale that should be necessary. Part II examines China's National Security Law and the essential legal developments that led up to it. Part III reviews the U.S. response to that Law, plus key developments in Hong Kong and Chinese views and counter-measures targeting America. Part IV suggests the U.S. response was correct, and a useful precedent on which to broaden and deepen the trade-human rights linkage, in what arguably is an Open Society War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the Hong Kong Metroplan of 1989 and the Port and Airport Development Strategy of 1989 which are the last colonial spatial plans of Great Britain in Hong Kong. Contention that the formulation, implementation and effects of theses plans are related to Hong Kong's past and future economic performance; How the plans have deflected dissent over the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty from Great Britain to China.

Analyzes the role of global real estate capital flows, the real estate sector and the politics of cities in the economic growth and urban development in Asia. Explanation on how property prices in global cities like Singapore and Hong Kong is made; Role of urban politics in cities in reducing negative externalities that have the power to retard economic growth; Strategies used by Singapore and Hong Kong in marketing their cities.

The article offers information on agreements between the People's Republic of China (PRC) Central Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It mentions information on economic partnership arrangement on Mainland and Hong Kong. It presents information on specific commitments on liberalization of trade in services.

Hong Kong is highlighting its position as a 'super-connector' to China in the Belt and Road Initiative. Premier Li Keqiang's Five-Year Plan unfurled in March 2016 noted that Beijing will be augmenting Hong Kong's economic position. Many expect the central government's policies towards Hong Kong in the post-19th Party Congress era to remain unchanged since the broad directions to managing Hong Kong have already been laid down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find that sensitivity of fund flows and fund performance are both related to participants' right to choose their investments in defined contribution plans. Under the Mandatory Provident Fund system of Hong Kong, both employers and employees are required to contribute to a retirement account. Originally, employees' investment choices were restricted to a subset of funds chosen by their employers. The system was later modified so that employees are allowed to invest in any fund within the system. We present evidence that flows of fund have become more sensitive to past fund performance after this policy change, and that average fund performance in the system has also improved. Based on the improvement in fund performance, we estimate the accumulated cost of the lack of choice to be around 10% of the current total asset value of the system. ( JEL G14, G18) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]