Mainland Immigrants in Hong Kong: social mobility over Twenty years

Based on four decades, 1981-2016, of Hong Kong census data, the study explored the income differences between local-born residents and migrants before and after 1997. Using decomposition analysis, we found that the endowment difference between recent migrants and local-born residents play an increasingly significant role in expanding the income difference between the two groups while the role of the income return of the endowment difference has diminished since 1997 We suggested that recent immigrants who arrived after 1997 benefited from the subsequent reduction in penalty for immigrants status in the labor market.