Abstract
The paper investigates the puzzling phenomenon of why Hong Kong citizens have much lower support for increasing spending on social assistance when all other welfare programs have been favored by local residents. With a random sampling survey, we find that citizens’ support towards raising the requirement of immigration is negatively correlated with their support for social assistance (the CSSA scheme). This study highlights that the perception of “who benefits” will influence citizens’ support for welfare spending. The Hong Kong story enriches the debate about the impact of citizens’ attitudes towards immigration on welfare spending against a backdrop of deglobalization and anti-immigration.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 28-44 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Journal of Economic Policy Reform |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 13 Jul 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This research was supported by Department of Asian and Policy Studies, Education University of Hong Kong; Shanghai Jiao Tong University Project WF220513006; the Ministry of Education of China Project 18YJC810010.
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
Keywords
- China
- deglobalization
- Hong Kong
- Immigration
- poverty
- public attitudes
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