Getting Ahead in the Capitalist Paradise: Migration from China and Socioeconomic Attainment in Colonial Hong Kong

Abstract

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.

Unemployment patterns of local-born and immigrant youth in Hong Kong

“…Most of those born outside Hong Kong came from mainland China, and their total number has exceeded two million (Chan and Buckingham 2008). As observed by Chiu et al (2005), the influx of Chinese immigrants when Hong Kong was a British colony peaked during four periods that corresponded to political instability in China. The first period was between 1949 and 1953, after the civil war in China and the establishment of the People's Republic of China.…”

“…Drawing rom analysis based on 131 female immigrants, the study showed immigrants' experiences of the acculturation process are linked to their stress (Mo et al 2006). Immigrant parents can provide only limited support to their children as they search for employment (Chiu et al 2005). The parents' social networks and knowledge of the labour market in mainland China may not be applicable to the Hong Kong market (Wong and Song 2006;Post et al 2014).…”

“…Many immigrants from China, like immigrants in other countries, experience difficulty finding jobs that are commensurate with their education, partly due to their professional or educational credentials not being recognized by the new community, and partly due to discrimination against immigrants in the labour market (Cheung and Leung 2012). Immigrants experience difficulties in effectively translating educational resources obtained in China into economic outcomes in Hong Kong (Chiu et al 2005). Even those who received education in Hong Kong may find their employment opportunities restricted by their limited social networks (Chou and Chow 2009;Chiu et al 2005).…”

“…Immigrants experience difficulties in effectively translating educational resources obtained in China into economic outcomes in Hong Kong (Chiu et al 2005). Even those who received education in Hong Kong may find their employment opportunities restricted by their limited social networks (Chou and Chow 2009;Chiu et al 2005). Based on data collected in the mid-1990s, Chiu et al (2005) found that, controlling for education, immigrants have only a 4 % chance compared to local-born individuals of obtaining a better job.…”

“…Even those who received education in Hong Kong may find their employment opportunities restricted by their limited social networks (Chou and Chow 2009;Chiu et al 2005). Based on data collected in the mid-1990s, Chiu et al (2005) found that, controlling for education, immigrants have only a 4 % chance compared to local-born individuals of obtaining a better job. They also found that the chance of obtaining a better job for immigrants who received their education in China is 59 % compared to local-born individuals.…”