Hong Kong has been one of the fastest growing East Asian economies since the end of the Second World War. The adoption and practice of economic freedom have been major pillars in its economic success. Indeed, the experience of Hong Kong has served as a reference for other emerging economies in the region. The scope of the book elaborates the context and ingredients of economic freedom that have brought success and prosperity to Hong Kong. With sovereignty reversion to China in 1997, it is even more relevant to see how economic freedom is shaping and adapting to the new environment.There exist a number of economic indices based on economic freedom. Hong Kong has been ranked as the freest economy in the world for a number of consecutive years. While the economic freedom indices compare the performance of a large number of word economies, there is a lack of economic literature that studies the absolute level of economic freedom of a single economy. This book boldly serves the purpose of elaborating on the absolute performance of economic freedom in the world's freest economy. It is, therefore, the first of its kind and unique in its field. Numerous areas of studies related to economic freedom are examined, studied and elaborated so that readers can have a full and comprehensive understanding of the content of economic freedom in Hong Kong.

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in late 2002 and 2003 challenged the global public health community to confront a novel epidemic that spread rapidly from its origins in southern China until it had reached more than 25 other countries within a matter of months. In addition to the number of patients infected with the SARS virus, the disease had profound economic and political repercussions in many of the affected regions. Recent reports of isolated new SARS cases and a fear that the disease could reemerge and spread have put public health officials on high alert for any indications of possible new outbreaks. This report examines the response to SARS by public health systems in individual countries, the biology of the SARS coronavirus and related coronaviruses in animals, the economic and political fallout of the SARS epidemic, quarantine law and other public health measures that apply to combating infectious diseases, and the role of international organizations and scientific cooperation in halting the spread of SARS. The report provides an illuminating survey of findings from the epidemic, along with an assessment of what might be needed in order to contain any future outbreaks of SARS or other emerging infections.

Since 1995, immigration has been adding more people to the population of Hong Kong than natural increase each year. Is there any adverse economic impact of immigration on Hong Kong? The authors examine the effect of immigration on wages and employment in the local labour market.

The case studies are topically diverse, and span a range of managerial functions and sectors. This casebook is an anthology of 28 cases from the series. The cases are written with a strong management perspective to offer a practical and interesting look at how successful entrepreneur-managers in Hong Kong systematically generate innovations in the shape of successful new products, services, processes and technologies when faced with various organizational and environmental challenges. They constitute a comprehensive self-contained course of study; each case can also be considered on its own.

Presents a story of two Chinas – an entrepreneurial rural China and a state-controlled urban China. In the 1980s, rural China gained the upper hand. In the 1990s, urban China triumphed. In the 1990s, the Chinese state reversed many of its rural experiments, with long-lasting damage to the economy and society. A weak financial sector, income disparity, rising illiteracy, productivity slowdowns, and reduced personal income growth are the product of the capitalism with Chinese characteristics of the 1990s and beyond. While GDP grew quickly in both decades, the welfare implications of growth differed substantially. The book uses the emerging Indian miracle to debunk the widespread notion that democracy is automatically anti-growth. As the country marked its 30th anniversary of reforms in 2008, China faces some of its toughest economic challenges and substantial vulnerabilities that require fundamental institutional reforms.

Economic growth, inflation, and interest rates have declined in Asia, just as they have in the United States and Europe. This volume explores the relevance to several Asian economies of the diagnosis known as “secular stagnation.” Leading experts on the region discuss the fiscal and monetary policy challenges of reviving growth without generating domestic financial imbalances. The essays on innovation, demographics, spillovers, and various policy proposals are accompanied by case studies focusing on Japan, South Korea, China, India, and Indonesia.

Hong Kong has remained a wealthy financial hub despite its exportoriented economy being adversely interrupted by the challenging global economic uncertainties and vulnerabilities that have occurred since the late 1990s. Yet, Hong Kong's income inequality is greater than that in any developed economy. The growing unequal income distribution and poverty in Hong Kong have aroused public concern. This book is a timely and important opportunity to advance the theory and practice of poverty and social exclusion measurement, and to conduct policy relevant analyses in Hong Kong. This collection was inspired by the workshop formed one key research output of the Poverty and Social Exclusion in Hong Kong (PSEHK) project funded by the Research Grants Council and the UK Economic and Social Research Council. It is hoped that this collection will inspire comparative research and policy analyses for better policy initiatives.