economic inequality and Hong Kong protests
Hong Kong’s protest movement – now more than three weeks old – has largely focused on definitions of universal suffrage and various methods for electing political leaders. However, many of those taking...
View Articlehappiness, satisfaction, and GDP
I would like to call everyone’s attention to a superb article written by University of Southern California economist Richard Easterlin, a scholar who, years ago, touched off the booming field of...
View ArticleHong Kong MUST Stand Up
The long-awaited book of essays drafted by proponents of a universal pension is now on sale in Hong Kong bookstores. It was published by Alliance for Universal Pension, an umbrella group (no pun...
View ArticleBeijing, Moscow and ‘spheres of influence’
FT columnist Gideon Rachman has written a must-read analysis of the efforts of China and Russia to create ‘spheres of influence’ in their parts of the world. Both China and Russia believe that they...
View ArticleHong Kong waits for universal pensions
Hong Kong’s government is holding back on its promise to initiate talks on pension reform, based on a commissioned report that was published last August. Some Hongkongers fear that the government will...
View ArticleHong Kong waits for universal pensions – update
A “raucous crowd of about 100 people”, assembled this morning outside the Legislative Council, awaiting the arrival of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. The group included members of the Alliance for...
View Articleno country for old pensioners
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive effectively ruled out discussion of universal pensions. It is a sad day for Hong Kong’s elderly population. Elderly Hongkongers were in despair after Leung Chun-ying’s...
View Articleuniversal pension inaction in Hong Kong
HK journalist Tim Hamlett has written an interesting column on this subject. Nothing new, but the arguments are nicely phrased. Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying announced in his third Policy Address...
View ArticleChina’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
FT columnist Martin Wolf urges the United States to join the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). [T]he fact that China wishes to invest a part of its $3.8tn in foreign exchange...
View Articleprosperous retirees in China
FT columnist Patti Waldmeir reports on the “gilded retirement” of older persons in China’s cities. When they were little, Mao Zedong gave them the Great Leap Forward and a famine that killed millions;...
View Articlethe Chinese Communist party
[T]he CCP [Chinese Communist party] is neither communist nor a party. Few Chinese believe it will abolish the market economy and lead the march to higher communism. It is “Leninist” in the sense that...
View ArticleChina’s stock market crash
After reaching a peak of 5,166.35 on June 12, the Shanghai index fell 30 per cent in just three weeks. …. Since then, the ruling Chinese Communist party has launched an unprecedented series of measures...
View ArticleChina’s currency and economic reforms
It is difficult to keep up with rapidly changing economic policies in China. Jamil Anderlini’s column on a key player in this unfolding drama is a must-read. Here is an excerpt. Click on the link below...
View Articleimplosion of the Chinese stock market bubble
The volatility of the Chinese stock market has affected financial markets throughout the world. FT columnist Martin Wolf writes that concern is justified, not because Chinese stock prices fell sharply,...
View ArticleChina’s economic growth prospects
FT columnist Martin Wolf is very optimistic regarding China’s long-run prospects. The important economic fact about China is its past achievements. Gross domestic product (at purchasing power parity)...
View Articlebusiness opposition to universal pensions in Hong Kong
One year ago the government of Hong Kong released a commissioned report that calls for universal benefits – an old age pension for all residents from the age of 65. It is not widely-known, but Hong...
View ArticleChina mimics Japanese policies of the 1990s
FT columnist Gillian Tett writes that the Chinese government appears to be implementing the same disastrous policies that Japan followed in the 1990s, after its asset price bubble burst. The historical...
View ArticleHong Kong’s stalled march on the road to universal pensions
The government of Hong Kong continues to drag its feet on implementation of the “universal, uniform amount, non-means-tested pension” recommended by authors of a government-commissioned report that was...
View Articlea proposal for pension reform in Hong Kong
There is widespread support for universal pensions in Hong Kong. Disturbingly, however, there is no agreement on what a “universal pension” might be. My definition of “universal pension” is a flat...
View Articleconsultation begins on pension reform in Hong Kong
Last year, on August 20th, a research team headed by Professor Nelson Chow of the University of Hong Kong submitted to the government of Hong Kong a Report it had commissioned. The Report recommended...
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