ABSTRACT

This chapter examines how income distribution is affected by occupation, activity status, educational background, economic status, sex, household size and the number of earners in each household. The labour force participation rate of a household may depend on the income of its principal earner; a second or a third member of a household comes out to work primarily to supplement a low household income. Income distribution classified by activity status shows those employers of the characteristics of the pattern revealed under industrial classification. Measures of income distribution of households classified by occupation of heads are presented. This cultural heritage inhibits an analysis of Hong Kong’s income distribution based on the characteristics of the principal earner, which would be unequivocal and more meaningful. The most significant result that emerges from our study of the relationship between income distribution and occupation is, perhaps, the stable cross-industry pattern.