The literature on the development of global cities suggests that Hong Kong had qualified as a global city by the early 1990s. Using data from the Population Censuses, this paper documents the extent to which the process of social polarisation accompanied Hong Kong's globalisation. As predicted by the global city literature, Hong Kong experienced during the 1990s a process of occupational polarisation and widening income inequality as a result of its transformation from an industrial colony to a producer service-driven global city. The paper outlines the gender dimension in this polarisation process, and how the forces of migration contributed to the reshaping of the social structure so that it now resembles an 'hour-glass'. The findings largely support Sassen's hypotheses regarding the social consequences of global city development, but the paper also highlights the effect of local institutional contexts in mediating the impact of global forces.

The mechanism of action subserving the potential anti-Parkinsonian properties of L-prolyl-L-leucyl-glycinamide (PLG) was investigated in behavioural and neurochemical models of dopaminergic function in the rat. Acute administration of PLG (20 and 40 mg kg-1 SC) failed to alter appreciably the intensity of the cataleptic response elicited by haloperidol (3 mg kg-1 IP). By contrast, chronic PLG treatment (20, 40 and 80 mg kg-1 SC twice daily for five days) significantly attenuated haloperidol-induced catalepsy. The effect of PLG on in vitro dopamine/neuroleptic receptor binding in rat striatum as differentially labelled by apomorphine and spiroperidol was also examined. PLG selectively enhanced the affinity of the specific binding of agonist [3H] apomorphine to dopamine receptors in the striatum, but had no effect on [3H] spiroperidol binding. The behavioural and biochemical results obtained in the present study raise the possibility that PLG may facilitate nigro-striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission through interacting with a unique PLG receptor functionally coupled to the dopamine receptor-adenylate cyclase complex.

Leaving the parental home is increasingly treated as an essential stepping‐stone toward adulthood in the modern world. The authors argue that this is a cultural process regulated by social norms and institutional settings that vary from place to place. Hong Kong provides an excellent scenario in which Chinese traditions coexist with rapid economic development. Rather than looking at leaving the parental home as a developmental process, Chinese tradition tends to link it with filial obligations and gender status. On the basis of life history data collected in Hong Kong, the authors establish that leaving home has neither gained substantial popularity nor become a unique life stage among Chinese; it continues to be closely associated with the marriage transition and practical considerations such as housing, childcare needs, and the availability of elderly care.

This article examines the initial labor market outcome and the subsequent mobility process of Chinese immigrants in Colonial Hong Kong using complete work history data and event history modeling. Contrary to the rhetoric that Hong Kong is a capitalist paradise for adventurers, the data showed that immigrants were penalized in their initial class placement, subsequent mobility, and current income attainment. Differences in educational attainment and the lack of transferability of pre‐migration human capital partly explained the attainment gap between immigrants and the natives. Yet the disadvantage of immigrants was also embedded in the local economic structure. The process of deindustrialization significantly lowered the chance of immigrants getting good first jobs when entering the labor market. Moreover, since deindustrialization benefited the natives by providing them with more opportunities in the service sector, it inadvertently widened the gap in upward mobility chances between natives and immigrants.

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