Labor Segmentation and Dualisation in Hong Kong

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Raymond K.H. Chan
Publishing Year 2021 Issue 2021/159 Language English
Pages 23 P. 172-194 File size 287 KB
DOI 10.3280/SL2021-159009
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With a strong adherence to liberalism, the labor market in Hong Kong is character-ized by a low level of external regulation and an emphasis on self-adaptation as coping. The government mainly attend to the quality of manpower supplied meet-ing the market need, as well as peaceful industrial relations. Segmentation of labor is a natural result of this lowly regulated liberal market. Benefited from a relatively stable economy, unemployment in the past two decades mainly contained, but dualisation observed with widening income gap, as well as an emerging sector of insecure labor. The recent COVID-19 pandemic is leading to a sudden and unex-pected economic crisis. Though with more ad hoc measures, cautious in regulating the labor market maintained. While we are waiting for further government initia-tives, the ending of the employment subsidy from December will certainly worsen the situation. Further dualisation will be the result.

Keywords: Dualisation, labour market, segmentation

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Raymond K.H. Chan, Labor Segmentation and Dualisation in Hong Kong in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 159/2021, pp 172-194, DOI: 10.3280/SL2021-159009