ABSTRACT
In our research, we discover three significant features in the use of personal networks for emigration purposes in Hong Kong. First, there is a quantitative variation in terms of occupational class.3 On the whole, the higher the class position of the family, the larger the number of social ties which can be mobilized for emigration. Options increase as one moves up the social ladder. Second, there is a qualitative variation too in the type of networks used by members of different occupational classes. Working-class emigrants tend to depend heavily on family and kinship ties, while affluent emigrants are more inclined to activate diverse bonds of friendship. Third, members of the lower middle class, whose livelihood hinges on bureaucratic careers and wages, have the lowest emigration propensity. It seems that the assets they possess are the least mobile and transferable.
