Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Child Poverty in Hong Kong Single-Parent Families

  • Published:
Child Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Over the past few decades, the number of single-parent families in Hong Kong has increased substantially. Single-parent families consistently account for the second-largest number of social security claims, after the elderly. It is well established that children who grow up in single-parent families are more vulnerable to poverty and development problems compared to their counterparts in married households. To assess the child poverty risk for single-parent families and its policy implications, this paper analyzes Census data from the period 1981–2011 to gauge the trend in child poverty and its contributory factors. The results show that the poverty gap between single-parent and married-couple families has widened in the past 30 years. The main reason for this is that the risk factors affecting married-couple families, including parental education and labor market participation, are more effective in reducing their poverty level than the poverty level of single-parent families. Moreover, the changes in social context over the past three decades have also been more favorable to married couples as their family characteristics make them more adaptable to the economic restructuring in Hong Kong. These results suggest that the government’s belief in the trickle-down effect for poverty reduction may not apply to single-parent families, who may find themselves even worse off despite the overall economic growth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Household income used in this research is different from the recent Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2012, in which both pre-intervention and post-intervention incomes were used (Government of the Hong Kong SAR 2013).

  2. The pre-intervention poverty rate for single-parent families reported in this research is very similar to that produced in the Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2012.

References

  • Ambert, A.-M. 2006. One parent families: characteristics, causes, consequences, and issues. The Vanier Institute of the Family.

  • Atkinson, A. B., & Marlier, E. (2010). Income and living conditions in Europe. Luxembourg: Eurostat.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker, H. D. R. (1993). Social change in Hong Kong: Hong Kong. The China Quarterly, 136(Special Issue: Greater China), 864–877.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, S. M. (1994). The changing demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of single parent families. Marriage and Family Review, 20(1–2), 71–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blinder, A. S. (1973). Wage discrimination: reduced form and structural variables. Journal of Human Resources, 8, 436–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, J., & Chzhen, Y. (2009). Child poverty policies across Europe. Journal of Family Research, 21(2), 128–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradshaw, J., Kennedy, S., Kilkey, M., Hutton, S., Corder, A., Eardley, T., Holmes, H., & Neale, J. (1996). The employment of lone parents: a comparison of policy in 20 countries. London: The Family and Parenthood: Policy and Practice, Family Policy Studies Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks-Gunn, J., & Duncan, G. J. (1997). The effects of poverty on Children. The Future of Children, 7(2), 55–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (1982). 1981 Population census main report. Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department. (1992). 1991 Population census main report (1st ed.). Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department (2001). 2001 Population census thematic report—single parents. Edited by Census and Statistics Department. Hong Kong.

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2002). 2001 Population census main report (1st ed.). Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Census and Statistics Department (2011). 2011 Population census thematic report: single parents. Edited by Census and Statistics Department. Hong Kong.

  • Census and Statistics Department. (2012). 2011 Population census main report (1st ed.). Hong Kong: Census and Statistics Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, C. K. (2002). Gender differences in participation and earnings in Hong Kong. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 32(1), 69–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiu, S. W. K., & Lui, T. L. (2004). Testing the global city-social polarisation thesis: Hong Kong since the 1990s. Urban Studies, 41(10), 1863–1888.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chou, K. L., Cheung, K. C. K., Lau, M. K. W., & Sin, T. C. H. (2013). Trend in child poverty in Hong Kong immigrant families. Social Indicators Research. doi:10.1007/s11205-013-0365-0.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choy, W. C. W., & Moneta, G. B. (2002). The interplay of autonomy and relatedness in Hong Kong Chinese single mothers. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 26, 186–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christopher, C., England, P., Smeeding, T., & Phillips, K. R. (2002). the gender gap in poverty in modern nations: single motherhood, the market, and the state. Sociological Perspectives, 45(3), 219–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chzhen, Y., & Bradshaw, J. (2012). Lone parents, poverty and policy in the European Union. Journal of European Social Policy, 22(5), 487–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Citizen Advice Bureau (2008). Barriers to work: lone parents and the challenges of working. Edited by Social Policy Department. London.

  • Cohler, B. J., & Musick, J. S. (1996). Adolescent parenthood and the transition to adulthood. In J. A. Graber, J. Brooks-Gunn, & A. C. Petersen (Eds.), Transitions through adolescence (pp. 201–232). Mahwah: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Commission on Poverty. Our Commitment 2013. Available from http://www.povertyrelief.gov.hk/eng/commitment.html.

  • Darity, W. A., Jr., & Mason, P. L. (1998). Evidence on discrimination in employment: codes of color, codes of gender. The Journal of Economic Perspective, 12(2), 63–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, H., & Joshi, H. (1998). Gender and income inequality in the UK 1968–1990: the feminization of earnings or of poverty. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 161(1), 33–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, G. J., Magnuson, K., Kalil, A., & Ziol-Guest, K. (2012). The importance of early childhood poverty. Social Indicators Research, 108, 87–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fairlie, R. W. (2005). An extension of the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique to Logit and Probit Models. Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, 30(4), 305–316.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fischer, D. G. (1993). Parental supervision and delinquency. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 56, 635–640.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furstenberg, F. F., Jr. (1992). Teenage childbearing and cultural rationality: a thesis in search of evidence. Family Relations, 41, 239–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government of the Hong Kong SAR (2013). Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2012.

  • Hirsch, D. (2013). Paying for children: the state’s changing role and income adequacy. Journal of Social Policy, 42(3), 495–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, E. S. C. (2006). Social disparity of family involvement in hong kong: effect of family resources and family network. The School Community Journal, 16(2), 7–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holzer, H. J., Schanzenbach, D. W., Duncan, G. J., & Ludwig, J. (2007). The economic costs of poverty in the United States: subsequent effects of children growing up poor. In: Ann Arbor: Michigan National Poverty Center Working paper series #07-04. Ann Arbor: Michigan National Poverty Center.

  • Julian, T., & Kominski, R. (2011). Education and synthetic work-life earnings estimates—American community survey reports. Edited by US Census Bureau.

  • Lam, K. C., & Liu, P. W. (2011). Increasing dispersion of skills and rising earnings inequality. Journal of Comparative Economics, 39(1), 82–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, S. K. (1981). Utilitarianistic familism: the basis of political stability. In A. Y. C. King & R. Lee (Eds.), Social life and development in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lau, Y. K. (2003). Social Welfare services for single parent families in Hong Kong: a paradox. Child and Family Social Work, 8, 47–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M. K. (1991). Family and social life. In S. K. Lau (Ed.), Indicators of social development: Hong Kong 1988. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, K. M., & Wong, H. (2004). Marginalized workers in postindustrial Hong Kong. Journal of Comparative Asian Development, 3(2), 249–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, M.-Y., Law, C.-K., & Tam, K.-K. (1999). Parenthood and life satisfaction: a comparison of single- and dual-parent families in Hong Kong. International Social Work, 42(2), 139–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, K. M., Wong, H., & Law, K. Y. (2007). Social polarisation and poverty in the global city: the case of Hong Kong. China Report, 43(1), 1–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, L. C. (1998). Long mothers, social security and the family in Hong Kong. Aldershot: Brookfield, Vt: Ashgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lichter, D. T., Qian, Z. C., & Crowley, M. L. (2005). Child poverty among racial minorities and immigrants: explaining trends and differentials. Social Science Quarterly, 86(5), 1037–1059.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, A. (2001). Helping British lone parents get and keep paid work. In: Lone parents, employment and social policy. Edited by J. Millar and K. Rowlingson, 11–36. Bristol Policy Press.

  • Millar, J., & Ridge, T. (2009). Relationships of care: working lone mothers, their children and employment sustainability. Journal of Social Policy, 38, 103–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musgrave, F. W. (2009). Government as anti-poverty facilitator in the USA: static inequality gap. Journal of Education Finance, 34(n4), 402–425.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oaxaca, R. (1973). Male-female wage differentials in urban labor markets. International Economic Review, 14, 693–709.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oropesa, R. S., & Landale, N. S. (2000). From austerity to prosperity? Migration and child poverty among mainland and island Pureto Ricans. Demography, 37(3), 323–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozawa, M. N., & Kim, R. Y. (1999). The trend in the income status of children in female-headed families. Children and Youth Services Review, 21(7), 527–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parke, R., & Buriel, R. (2006). Socialization in the family: ethnic and ecological perspectives. In N. Eisenberg (Ed.), The handbook of child psychology: social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 429–504). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rainwater, L., & Smeeding, T. (2003). Poor kids in a rich country: America’s children in comparative perspective. New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ridge, T. (2011). The everyday costs of poverty in children: a review of qualitative research exploring the lives and experiences of low-income children in the UK. Children & Society, 25(1), 73–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robson, K., & Berthoud, R. (2003). Teenage motherhood in Europe: a multi-country analysis of socio-economic outcomes. Euporean Sociological Review, 19(5), 451–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rudowicz, E. (2001). Stigmatization as a predictor of psychological well-being of Hong Kong single mothers. Marriage and Family Review, 33(4), 63–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder, A. R., McLaughlin, D. K., & Findeis, J. (2006). Household composition and poverty among female-headed households with children: differences by race and residence. Rural Sociology, 71(4), 597–624.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen, A. (1994). Women’s economic risk and the economic position of single mothers. Euporean Sociological Review, 10(2), 173–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Hulst, A., Seguin, L., Zunzunegui, M. V., Velez, M. P., & Nikiema, B. (2011). The influence of poverty and social support on the perceived health of children born to minority migrant mothers. Ethnicity & Health, 16(3), 185–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, M., & Ngai, S. S. Y. (2011). The effects of single parenthood on educational aspiration: a comparative study of children in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. Children & Youth Services, 32(2), 135–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wenweipo (2013). 貧窮線「主線」 家庭入息中位數50%. Wenweipo,, 23-7-2013.

  • Woodward, L. J., Fergusson, D. M., & Horwood, L. J. (2001). Risk factors and life processes associated with teen pregnancy: results of a prospective study from birth to 20 years. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1170–1184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, W.-S., & Lu, M. C.-W. (2010). Asian cross-border marriage migration: demographic patterns and social issues. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Yoo, J., & Lim, Y. (2009). The trend in the income status of children in female-headed families: a replication and update. Children and Youth Services Review, 31, 482–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Research Grant Council, Public Policy Research Funding Scheme (HKIEd 7005-PPR-12). The authors wish to thank their research assistants for their help with the data collection as well as those who kindly volunteered to participate in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Asian and Policy Studies, The Hong Kong Institute of Education, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong

    Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung

Authors
  1. Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kelvin Chi-Kin Cheung.

Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 Poverty rates among children of single parents and children of married couples, 1981–2011 (Poverty = 1 if income <40%)
Full size table
Table 7 Poverty rates among children of single parents and children of married couples, 1981–2011 (Poverty = 1 if income <60 %)
Full size table
Table 8 Poverty rates among children of single parents and children of married couples, 1981–2011 (Poverty = 1 if income <CSSA)
Full size table
Table 9 Changes in poverty that are due to changes in composition versus changes in subcategory poverty risks (Poverty = 1 if income <40 %)
Full size table
Table10 Changes in poverty that are due to changes in composition versus changes in subcategory poverty risks (Poverty = 1 if income <60 %)
Full size table
Table 11 Changes in poverty that are due to changes in composition versus changes in subcategory poverty risks (Poverty = 1 if income <CSSA)
Full size table
Table 12 Contributions of changes in composition to changes in child poverty (Poverty = 1 if income <40 %)
Full size table
Table 13 Contributions of changes in composition to changes in child poverty (Poverty = 1 if income <60 %)
Full size table
Table 14 Contributions of changes in composition to changes in child poverty (Poverty = 1 if income <CSSA)
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cheung, K.CK. Child Poverty in Hong Kong Single-Parent Families. Child Ind Res 8, 517–536 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-9256-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-014-9256-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation