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Measuring Child Poverty in Hong Kong: Sensitivity to the Choice of Equivalence Scale

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  • Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung

    (The Education University of Hong Kong)

  • Kee-Lee Chou

    (The Education University of Hong Kong)

Abstract

In September 2013, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region established Hong Kong’s first official poverty line. The new poverty line is used as a major yardstick in social welfare policy formulation and in the allocation of public resources aimed at combating poverty; despite its importance, however, its robustness has not been examined. Using data from the 2011 Population Census, we examined the robustness of the official poverty line in measuring child poverty in Hong Kong through assessing the sensitivity of child poverty measures to the choice of different equivalence scales. The results show that the child poverty profile in Hong Kong is generally not sensitive to the choice of equivalence scale and that the official poverty line correctly identifies those children who live in poverty. Rates of child poverty among boys and girls of different ages, with different family backgrounds and living in households with different compositions, were calculated and ranked using different equivalence scales; these rankings were found to be very similar to those yielded by the official poverty measure. Thus, the choice of adult equivalence scale does not favour any subgroup. We also examined the child poverty profile in Hong Kong based on the official poverty measure and with our 2011 census data. We found that the children in our sample were more likely than the adults to live in poverty household; that more than half of the children who lived in poverty belonged to working poor families; and that children living in public housing were particularly likely to suffer from severe poverty. In light of these findings, we urge the government to prioritise taking measures aimed at lifting children out of poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung & Kee-Lee Chou, 2018. "Measuring Child Poverty in Hong Kong: Sensitivity to the Choice of Equivalence Scale," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 909-921, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:139:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1768-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1768-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David Post, 2004. "Family Resources, Gender, and Immigration: Changing Sources of Hong Kong Educational Inequality, 1971–2001," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 85(5), pages 1238-1258, December.
    2. Cutler, David M & Katz, Lawrence F, 1992. "Rising Inequality? Changes in the Distribution of Income and Consumption in the 1980's," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 82(2), pages 546-551, May.
    3. Kee-Lee Chou, 2013. "Familial Effect on Child Poverty in Hong Kong Immigrant Families," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 113(1), pages 183-195, August.
    4. Coulter, Fiona A E & Cowell, Frank A & Jenkins, Stephen P, 1992. "Equivalence Scale Relativities and the Extent of Inequality and Poverty," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 102(414), pages 1067-1082, September.
    5. Judith Streak & Derek Yu & Servaas Van der Berg, 2009. "Measuring Child Poverty in South Africa: Sensitivity to the Choice of Equivalence Scale and an Updated Profile," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 94(2), pages 183-201, November.
    6. Greg Duncan & Katherine Magnuson & Ariel Kalil & Kathleen Ziol-Guest, 2012. "The Importance of Early Childhood Poverty," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 108(1), pages 87-98, August.
    7. Shaffer, Paul, 2013. "Q-Squared: Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches in Poverty Analysis," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199676910, Decembrie.
    8. Peter Adamson, 2012. "Measuring Child Poverty: New league tables of child poverty in the world's rich countries," Papers inreca660, Innocenti Report Card.
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    10. Jonathan Haughton & Shahidur R. Khandker, 2009. "Handbook on Poverty and Inequality," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 11985, December.
    11. Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung & Kee-Lee Chou, 2016. "Working Poor in Hong Kong," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 129(1), pages 317-335, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Paul Vinod Khiatani & Minnie Heep Ching She & Wing Hong Chui, 2021. "Child Poverty in an Affluent City: Trends and Risk Factors in Hong Kong Between 2011 and 2016," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(6), pages 2325-2346, December.

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