论“双普选”对香港行政权和立法权的影响

香港特区的政制发展,核心问题就是处理立法权与行政权的关系。在"双普选"即将实现的特殊历史背景下,无论是特区政府、还是中央政府都应该对"双普选"给香港特区立法权、行政权带来的影响作出前瞻性的预判并研究预备相应的应对措施,这对于"一国两制"和香港民主进程的平稳推进都具有重要而深远的意义。     

The Transfer of Property Rights from the Public to the Private Sector in Hong Kong: A Critical Assessment

Abstract

The privatization idea may have lost some of its luster in recent years, but it remains relevant in today's socio-economic environment and is pursued consistently in industrialized and industrializing countries alike. Hong Kong has followed the general pattern in a manner reflecting its particular circumstances and its institutional modus operandi. The underlying logic may not appear highly compelling, from a short-term perspective, yet there are sound grounds for approaching the task positively, if viewed from a multi-year standpoint. Rather surprisingly, for such a quintessentially capitalist society, Hong Kong has not confronted the privatization challenge astutely on the political front and has handled it somewhat mechanically in managerial terms. The benefits to the community may have thus been more modest than one could legitimately expect, given the historical backdrop.     

香港食品安全监管体系及对内地的借鉴意义

近年来,我国食品安全事故发生频率高,为食品安全监管的法律制度、监管机制、部门协调等提出了新的要求。香港与内地监管体系对接,可为我国食品安全监管提供有益参考。目前鲜有研究对香港目前食物安全监管体制做全面梳理研究。基于对香港食环署食物安全中心的多次访谈,该文讨论香港食品安全监管机制的制度架构、运作模式、背后精神,并提出对内...     

以三维总部经济模式推进粤港合作

由于CEPA的签订,广东和香港之间的经济合作进入了一个新的阶段,然而随着经济全球化和信息技术的快速发展,国际竞争日趋激烈,同时广东本身的发展也逐步凸显出一些新的问题,如何在新的历史条件下,强化粤港间的经济合作,实现两地区的互惠共赢,是一个亟待解决的问题。本文通过总部经济理论的应用,提出三维模式,旨在为推进粤港经济合作提供一个新的思路。     

中国国际金融中心崛起与沪港竞合关系分析

本文以全球性金融危机和中国经济崛起为基本背景,探讨了中国可能出现全球性重要国际金融中心的理论依据,并且认为,虽然当前香港的微观金融市场条件超过上海,但从长期看,在宏观基础性因素和政策性因素等基本因素的作用下,上海可能成长为比香港更为重要的国际金融中心。同时以上述分析为基础,进一步研究了沪港未来金融发展可能出现的基本竞合结构及双方各自的战略取向。     

A Eurasian Economic Vision for the Twenty-first Century

Widespread corruption in mainland China adversely affects the overall economy in general and international business in particular. Prior to the establishment of the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) in 1974, corruption was also rampant in Hong Kong. The ICAC effectively cleaned corruption in Hong Kong within a short period of time. Hong Kong's success in this area has prompted the Chinese government to learn from Hong Kong's experience. This article reviews the factors that contributed to Hong Kong's success in fighting corruption and discusses whether China can learn from the Hong Kong experience. From this, we can conclude that, first, Hong Kong's experience demonstrates that a corruption‐prone culture can be changed in a relatively short period of time; second, in order for China to learn from Hong Kong's experience, there must be substantial changes in China's political and economic institutions.     

经济增长能带来共同富裕么——基于香港地区收入分配状况的研究

库兹涅茨倒U假说揭示的工业化国家(地区)收入分配差距"先上升,后下降"的倒U型运动轨迹在很多国家(地区)的发展经验中都无法得到验证,包括香港。作为亚洲四小龙之一,香港经济已保持了近半个世纪的持续快速增长,然而我国香港地区的收入分配状况不仅没有随着经济增长而获得改善,反而是不断恶化。造成香港社会贫富悬殊的原因有很多,主要包括缺少全面的社会保障体系,为追求经济增长实行不利于中低层群体的人才引进制度、工资制度和税收制度,市民教育程度底下,政治民主发育不足,特殊的产业结构以及经济过度的自由化等等。香港经验给我们带来的启示是不能片面追求经济增长,全民的共同富裕不会伴随着经济增长自动到来,改善收入分配状况,涉及到对各种国家政策、经济制度和政治制度全面改革。     

One country,two currencies: The adoption of the Hong Kong currency board, 1983

Currency boards have had an enduring attraction as a solution to exchange rate and monetary credibility for small open economies, despite few successful examples. In this context, the case of Hong Kong stands out for its longevity; it survived the handover to China, the Asian financial crises in 1997, and the global crises in 2007–8 and 2020. The 1983 currency crisis and the decision to link the exchange rate to the US$ is usually treated as an outcome of local political uncertainty due to the Sino-British negotiations which set the framework for how Hong Kong would fit with the rest of China after 1997. We present fresh archival evidence from Hong Kong and London to reveal the year-long debates over Hong Kong's monetary system after a drop in the exchange rate in September 1982 and to demonstrate how most of the protagonists in Hong Kong and London came only reluctantly to accept the idea of re-pegging the dollar once public expectations had been raised. We also show how the mixture of currency and banking instability affected the terms of the negotiations in 1982 and 1983 and set the framework for the one country, two currencies system that prevails today.     

In the crossfire: Multinational companies and consumer boycotts

Multinational firms face challenges as geopolitical tensions are rising when stakeholders may have divergent views on contentious issues. Sharply different attitudes toward the proposed extradition law by the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2019 and related issues were observed among some residents in mainland China and Hong Kong. While firms such as Cathay Pacific Airways expressed support of the government, it was perceived by some of its customers in mainland China that the firm was hostile to them due to the views expressed by some of its staff based in Hong Kong. In this paper, we estimate the impact of such perceived divergent staff political attitudes on consumer demand. Using a triple differences design that controls for changes in market demand and supply conditions, we find that passenger volumes from mainland China were adversely affected for Cathay Pacific, leading to a monthly decrease of approximately 20%, after contentious political views of some of its staff were widely reported in mainland China. However, the negative effects subside within a quarter. Further analysis reveals heterogeneity in consumer responses by regions, with passengers from South East Asia or countries having closer migration or trade ties with mainland China behaving similarly with those from mainland China.     

Lean Hong Kong Harvest and the Doha Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations

Abstract

The biennial Ministerial Conferences are the most important event of the WTO regime. The Hong Kong Ministerial Conference was the sixth biennial conference of the WTO, which aimed at a low-level equilibrium and achieved it. While it successfully eschewed another Cancún-like disappointing failure, the Hong Kong Ministerial did not achieve much of substance. If success is defined as not failing, the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference could be adjudged a success. Few bold decisions were attempted and important outstanding decisions were put off for the future. Liberalization of multilateral trade in agriculture was the most important as well as the most contentious issue in Hong Kong. A good number of significant secondary areas were also under negotiations. Core modalities that were to be determined on these issues in Hong Kong were not. A reasonably successful Hong Kong Ministerial Conference would have helped in advancing the Doha Round, which in turn would have meant welfare gains to the global economy, and its different regions and sub-regions. This opportunity was evidently missed.     

中国社会的变迁与女子竞技体育运动发展的关系

翻阅历史文化资料,从这些内容与其对应的各个历史时期的社会政治、经济、思想意识等各方面的具体情况来看,我们可以了解到：我国女子体育文化的兴衰流变与当时的政治背景、社会背景有着密切关系。本文从社会学角度、女性角度论述我国社会的变迁与我国女子竞技体育运动之间的关系,指出女子竞技体育运动的发展,最终取决于当时的社会生产力、经济发展水平。本文采用文献资料法、逻辑分析法等研究方法对我国女子竞技体育的发展与社会变迁关系进行综述。     

Second language skills and labor market outcomes: Evidence from the handover of Hong Kong

This paper analyzes the effects of second languages skills on labor market outcomes in Hong Kong. Using data from the Hong Kong Population Censuses, we find that both Mandarin and English language skills are linked to improved labor market performance, and the premiums for English are much larger than those for Mandarin. We further show that the sovereignty transfer of Hong Kong from the UK to China in 1997 has strengthened the positive role of Mandarin and English language skills in finding a job in Hong Kong. The political change has also increased the earnings of people with the ability to speak Mandarin. As a comparison, the earnings premium for speaking English has declined in magnitude after the sovereignty transfer. Investigating into the mechanisms, we show that the rising premiums for Mandarin language skills are operated through choices of occupations and industry sectors. Our findings suggest that important political changes can affect the economic returns to language skills in the labor market.     

Stock market performance in Hong Kong: an exploratory review

This paper reviews the origin and development of the stock market in Hong Kong. The first formal stock exchange, the Association of Stockbrokers in Hong Kong, was formed in 1891. However, the activities of the stock exchange are generally regarded as insignificant until the 1970s. Since the 1980s, there have been a number of major reforms and some significant developments. These include the unification of four stock exchanges; the establishment of the Securities and Futures Commission; the closer economic relations with Mainland China; the merger of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Futures Exchange to form the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx); the launch of the second board (Growth Enterprise Market); and the demutualisation of the HKEx. The Exchange generally responded positively to these reforms and developments. As a result, the Hong Kong stock market experienced significant growth in terms of its market capitalisation ratio, turnover ratio, and the total value traded ratio. Despite the impressive growth in various stock market indicators, however, the Hong Kong stock market still faces some challenges, including regulatory challenges, as well as some concern over its future viability as a global equity hub.     

Inflation Transmission in Greater China

This paper examines inflation dynamics in Greater China. Using an asymmetric error correction model, we investigate how inflation in Hong Kong and Macao are related to inflation in Chinese Mainland. Our results based on data from July 1997 to December 2012 reveal that a long‐term equilibrium relation exists between inflation in Chinese Mainland and inflation in both Hong Kong and Macao, the two Special Administrative Regions of China. The degree of inflation pass‐through is higher for Macao than for Hong Kong. Moreover, we find no evidence of asymmetries in either Hong Kong and Macao's adjustment speeds towards long‐run equilibrium or in the short‐run pass‐through of accelerating or decelerating inflation in the Mainland. Collectively, our results show a close relationship among price dynamics of the three economies and call for a reconsideration of the exchange rate anchor in the Greater China Region.     

国外历史经验对中国国际金融中心合理定位的借鉴

目前最有希望成为未来中国国际金融中心的地区有北京、上海、深圳/香港,三地各有优势。本文回溯了英国伦敦、美国纽约、新家坡和巴哈马四个著名国际金融中心的历史变迁。以史为鉴,来指导我国的国际金融中心的定位和建设。     

Renminbi internationalisation: precedents and implications

Although it is commonly assumed that there are no precedents against which to benchmark Renminbi (RMB), this study argues that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) own development experience provides a useful perspective on the internationalisation debate. This study indicates that lessons can be learnt from both the successes and the shortcomings of efforts to internationalise the RMB in the 1970s. During this period, state-owned banks in Hong Kong played a central role in mobilising finance for foreign trade. Access to Hong Kong’s financial institutions allowed the PRC to maximise international trade receipts while minimising the risk of undue swings in capital flows. This study shows that although China no longer faces foreign exchange scarcity, economic reforms have not yet resolved vulnerabilities in China’s financial institutions. As a consequence, Hong Kong has retained its role in mitigating the risks of internationalisation and as a globalising force for China’s banking sector more generally.     

The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) and its impacts on the export efficiency of Hong Kong and Macao

The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) is a bilateral preferential agreement signed among China, Hong Kong, and Macao which opens up the China market by providing zero tariff after accession. This paper sheds light to the impacts of the CEPA on merchandise trade with an in-depth analysis on export efficiency. Despite that merchandise trade has already been fully liberalized, the estimation results indicate that the efficiency of exports to China has been on the decline since 2000. This implies that the actual value of exports to China has departed from its full potential, and confirms our suspicions on the incapability of the CEPA to boost the exports of Hong Kong and Macao to China. There is also no evidence to support that the CEPA has successfully attracted foreign investment to Hong Kong and Macao for tariff free exports to China.     

The effect of index futures trading on volatility: Three markets for Chinese stocks

This paper examines whether the introduction of Chinese stock index futures had an impact on the volatility of the underlying spot market. To this end, we estimate several Generalized Auto-regressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) models and compare our findings for mainland China with Chinese index futures traded in Singapore and Hong Kong. Our results indicate that Chinese index futures decrease spot market volatility in all three spot markets considered. In contrast, we do not obtain the same results for the companion index futures markets in Hong Kong and Singapore. China's stock market is relatively young and largely dominated by private retail investors. Nevertheless, our evidence is favorable to the stabilization hypothesis usually confirmed in mature markets.     

Development trajectories: Hong Kong vs. Shanghai

Over the past three decades, Shanghai and Hong Kong, leading cities in China's Yangzi River Delta and Pearl River Delta, respectively, have seen rapid economic development and institutional transformation. Shanghai has experienced a major breakthrough in its export‐driven economy and in industrial upgrading since the opening of the Pudong area in the 1990s. Shanghai has also ramped up its efforts to catch up with Hong Kong and has already become one of the world's foremost manufacturing and export hubs. At the same time, and particularly following the 1997 Asian economic crisis, Hong Kong has redoubled efforts to identify shortcomings in its economic architecture; and has explored plans to transcend its traditional role as a financial hub, to attract entrepreneurial hi‐tech talent, and to overcome inequitable income growth. This paper explores the development trajectories of these two cities and how they depart from the pre‐1978 development models. The paper also examines the extent to which the current trajectories are complementary or in competition.     

THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM IN HONG KONG: ESTABLISHMENT AND READJUSTMENT OF THE LIBERAL WELFARE MODEL

Hong Kong's social security system has followed a “liberal” welfare state regime. The system has undergone changes along with the high economic growth, changes in the labor market, and transformation of the political environment, but has retained the fundamental principle of a social security system led by the private sector. In recent years, Hong Kong has responded to the aging population and growing unemployment by introducing the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme that requires individuals to join private‐sector pension schemes and by intensifying cooperation with nongovernmental organizations. This indicates the deep‐seated nature of the influence of the liberal regime in Hong Kong.