Construction of Mainland China : Hong Kong Economic Integration Index and Its Applications to Facilitate Public Policy Research in Hong Kong (Final Report): 中國內地及香港經濟整合指數的制訂及其促進香港公共政策研究之應用

Economic integration between mainland China and Hong Kong has been constantly evolving over the past three decades. However, a deliberate evaluation of economic integration is difficult when it is not properly defined or measured. To facilitate the policy debate over the economic and social consequences of economic integration, we construct a Chinese mainland - Hong Kong Economic Integration index to measure the level of economic integration between the two economies from 1990 to 2016. This index consists of the key aspects of economic integration, including its driving forces, processes and consequences. The index is measured on a scale of 0 to 100 on an annual basis for twenty-six years. We find that the economies of Hong Kong and Chinese mainland have become highly integrated and interdependent on each other during the study period and that economic integration index is associated with several socio-economic indicators of Hong Kong in significant ways.

過去三十年，中國內地及香港經濟整合持續展開。為了能夠把經濟整合演化過程中那些範圍廣泛的經濟活動所出現的既複雜、甚至時而背道而馳的發展趨勢，總結為一個簡單及易明的圖畫，方便政策制定者及公眾人士參考，我們建立香港與內地經濟一體化指數，以衡量 1990 年至 2016 年兩個經濟體之間的經濟一體化水平。該指數由幾個經濟一體化的關鍵指標組成，包括其推動力，過程和後果。

該指數從 0 至 100 的等級衡量過去二十六年經濟一體化的成果。在研究期間，我們發現
香港與內地經濟高度一體化和相互依存，經濟一體化指數在很大程度上與香港的一些社會經濟指標有著重大關聯。