Social class and charitable behavior in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong is highly ranked in both economic inequality and altruism; these characteristics contrast with the accepted academic view postulating an inverse association between inequality and altruism. This thesis reports on a study that attempts to explain this puzzling phenomenon by investigating the relationship between social class and charitable behavior in Hong Kong. Specifically, the associations of five social class elements (objective social class, subjective social class, class discordance, cross-class interaction and class mobility) with two types of charitable behavior (i.e., monetary donation and volunteering) are examined. A systematic review of empirical studies on social class and altruism shows that: 1) previous research has overlooked several social class elements, such as class discordance, cross-class interaction and class mobility; 2) the popular hypothesis regarding the negative association between social class and altruism may not apply to charitable behavior. The study used secondary data from the household-head sample of the first wave of the Hong Kong Panel Survey for Poverty Alleviation (2014—2015). To ensure that the sample was representative of the Hong Kong adult population, a probability weight was calculated and employed in the analyses. The thesis outlines the profile of Hong Kong’s social class structure. All five aforementioned social class elements are conceptualized and operationalized. Next, the associations among objective social class, subjective social class, class discordance and charitable behavior are examined. To further understand the topic from a dynamic view, the associations of cross-class interaction and class mobility (both inter- and intra- generational mobility) with charitable behavior are examined. The analytical approaches used in the study comprise latent class analysis, binary logistic regression, the Karlson/Holm/Breen (KHB) decomposition method, and multiple linear regression. Study results suggest that the impacts of different social class elements on charitable behavior are different: 1) people in the objective upper class are more likely to make a donation, while those in the objective lower class are more likely to volunteer; 2) people in the subjective middle class are more likely to make a donation; 3) people who overestimate their social position are more likely to volunteer; 4) cross-class interaction and intergenerational upward mobility are positively associated with both types of charitable behavior; 5) intragenerational upward mobility is only negatively associated with volunteering behavior; and 6) subjective social class mediates the relationship between intergenerational upward mobility and monetary donation. To conclude, by applying both static and dynamic views to the examination of social class and by differentiating monetary donation and volunteering, the special phenomena associated with charitable behavior in Hong Kong can be better understood. The apparent high participation rate in charitable behavior in Hong Kong might be attributed to the fact that the city, although having a significant income gap between rich and poor, has a relatively high level of intergenerational upward mobility and positive cross-class interaction. This study not only deepens the understanding of the influences of social class on charitable behavior in Hong Kong society, but also provides policy and practical implications for promoting altruism in a world characterized by growing economic inequality.