I. What happened Hard hit by COVID-19, Sri Lanka’s tourism sector was severely dragged in 2020. Its tourism revenue dropped from the highest of USD 450 million in December 2019 to nearly zero throughout the second and third quarter of 2020. As a result, the country’s economic growth in 2020 also shrank by 3.6%, following aContinue reading “Price Control on food, Sri Lanka”
Author Archives: Econrc
Lecture on “Evolution of Money” in Pui Ching Middle School
On 19 March 2022, Prof Travis Ng was invited to Pui Ching Middle School to deliver a lecture on the topic of “Evolution of Money”. Due to another outbreak of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, the lecture was held virtually on ZOOM. There were about 35 students attended the class. While it is taken for grantedContinue reading “Lecture on “Evolution of Money” in Pui Ching Middle School”
Quantity Theory of Money: causes of inflation and its implications on monetary policies
What are the factors that cause inflation? A standard approach to analyse inflation is to use the famous “Quantity Theory of Money” shown below. it is originally formulated by Polish mathematician Nicolaus Copernicus in 1517 and later popularized by economists Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz. MV = Py M = Money Supply V = VelocityContinue reading “Quantity Theory of Money: causes of inflation and its implications on monetary policies”
Introduction of useful indicators – Consumer Price Index compiled by C&SD
What is Inflation? The term Inflation is used to denote an ongoing rise in the general level of price quoted in units of money. The magnitude of inflation is the inflation rate, which is usually calculated by measuring the annualized changes in the price level of a basket of goods and services — Consumer PriceContinue reading “Introduction of useful indicators – Consumer Price Index compiled by C&SD”
Introduction of useful indicators : Doing Business Project from World Bank
What is the Doing Business project about? The Doing Business project from the World Bank provides objective and quantitative measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional levels, which serves as an important indicator for multinational companies when choosing potential economies to expand their businesses.Continue reading “Introduction of useful indicators : Doing Business Project from World Bank”
Understanding common errors in surveys and statistical reports
Understanding common errors in surveys and statistical reports Errors extensively exist in most of the survey results, whose sources vary from nonresponse error, measurement error, framing error, etc. When reading statistics from a survey, we need to recognize all sorts of potential errors behind it, in order to avoid being misled. What is even betterContinue reading “Understanding common errors in surveys and statistical reports”
Cautionary remarks for the statistics of Regional Headquarters, Regional Offices and Local Offices by C&SD
Cautionary remarks of interpreting the survey results There are a few cautionary remarks worth paying attention to when reading the number of Regional Headquarters(RHQs) /Regional Offices(ROs)/Local Offices(LOs) in the report of “Annual survey of companies in Hong Kong with Parent Companies Located outside Hong Kong” ( called the Survey hereafter), published by Census and StatisticsContinue reading “Cautionary remarks for the statistics of Regional Headquarters, Regional Offices and Local Offices by C&SD”
The development of regional headquarters in Hong Kong in recent decades
Executive summary: The number of RHQs in Hong Kong grew steadily in the long run, despite dropping for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021. The number of RHQs from mainland China rose exceptionally in recent years, narrowing the share gap with the US, the head in the list. Over half of RHQs engaged inContinue reading “The development of regional headquarters in Hong Kong in recent decades”
The Belt & Road Global Forum Annual Roundtable 2021
On 3 September 2021, the Belt & Road Global Forum Annual Roundtable 2021 was held by Belt and Road Global Forum in Hong Kong. Prof SHENG Liugang participated in the event with a presentation on “Driving Growth through Connectivity—Harnessing the new momentum of the GBA（Greater Bay Area）and RCEP（Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership）”. The RCEP and GBAContinue reading “The Belt & Road Global Forum Annual Roundtable 2021”
APEC Study Centre Consortium 2021
On 6 July 2021, the APEC Study Centre Consortium (ASCC) was held online by APEC New Zealand. Prof. Travis Ng participated in the event with a presentation on “Some Economic Effects of Foreign Ownership Restrictions”. The aim of having foreign ownership restrictions is to protect insiders/ local people. It is believed that foreigners’ participation givesContinue reading “APEC Study Centre Consortium 2021”