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Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Frederick Ma, in the Legislative Council today (March 14):
Question:
Regarding the latest summary results of the 2006 population by-census announced by the Census and Statistics Department and the compilation of the Gini Coefficient, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether, in the past, it had announced the summary results of population census and the relevant Gini Coefficients at the same time; given that some academics have pointed out that with the advanced computer technology nowadays, the compilation of the Gini Coefficient is not difficult, why the Government has not announced the latest Gini Coefficient together with the summary results of the 2006 population by-census at the same time;
(b) whether it will consider immediately announcing the Gini Coefficient compiled according to the existing arrangement, so as to let the public know the latest situation of disparity between the rich and the poor; and
(c) given that the authorities had pointed out in the past that the Gini Coefficient did not take into account the income redistribution effect brought about by taxation, welfare assistance and Government subsidies in various services, whether the authorities will change the types of data to be included in the compilation of the Gini Coefficient; if so, of the details of the new data to be included, and whether the authorities have assessed if the inclusion of the effect of Government assistance and subsidies in the compilation of the Gini Coefficient will render the Coefficient so compiled useless in comparing with the relevant Coefficients announced in Hong Kong in the past and those of other places, as well as distort the original purpose of the Gini Coefficient to measure the disparity in household income?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In previous rounds of population census/by-census, the Gini coefficients were released along with the summary census/by-census results. However, with the significant changes in the social and economic structure of Hong Kong in the recent years, the study on income distribution has become highly complicated. Furthermore, there has been increasing public interest in these figures, and comparison of Hong Kong's figures with those of other economies has been made from time to time. Simply releasing the Gini coefficients from the household income data of the by-census not only fails to inform the public of the factors underlying the changes in income distribution, it may even lead to mis-understanding of the actual situation. In view of this, the Census and Statistics Department considered it necessary to compile a thematic report on income distribution, making use of the 2006 Population By-census data to conduct a detailed and comprehensive analysis on household income distribution. The study is being conducted. As it will take quite time to complete the task, the results cannot be covered in the summary results report.
(b) As pointed out in (a), household income distribution is a complicated subject. Releasing a Gini coefficient compiled based on only household income may lead to mis-understanding of income distribution in Hong Kong. The analysis on Gini coefficients and household income distribution should take into account other related factors like household composition, demographic characteristics, structural changes of the economy and social benefits to ensure that the findings reflect the actual situation. The Census and Statistics Department is conducting a detailed analysis on household income distribution to be released in mid-2007. The Gini coefficients and other detailed analyse will be announced at that time so that the community can understand and interpret the changes revealed from the figures in a more scientific and comprehensive manner.
(c) When compiling the thematic report on income distribution, analysis of the impact of changes on various aspects of income distribution will be conducted. These include changes in household size and structure, structural changes of the economy, and income re-distribution effect brought about by government policies. The latter includes taxation and various social benefits (e.g. subsidies provided by the Government in housing, medical and education services). We will take into account different factors and make use of various indicators when analysing the income distribution of Hong Kong based on the 2006 Population By-census results. Relevant and useful statistics and indicators, including unadjusted Gini coefficients and Gini coefficients adjusted for the effect of taxation and social benefits on income distribution, will be compiled. The public can then be furnished with information on the difference between the unadjusted and adjusted Gini coefficients. The Census and Statistics Department will also compile a time series of the said statistics and indicators, including the 1996 and 2001 adjusted Gini coefficients, to facilitate the public in making reference and analysis. Compilation of the Gini coefficients adjusted for the effect of taxation and social benefits on income distribution will allow the public to understand and interpret the income distribution under the "disposable income" concept. This is an internationally commonly used method, which is adopted in a number of economies.
Ends/Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:21
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