Report Discussion on Education Hub at Social Solution Initiative, Osaka University

Prof. Travis NG, the Director of the Economic Research Centre, discussed the report “Building an education hub to address some population challenges” at The Social Solution Initiative (SSI) at Osaka University in June 2023. The paper serves as a discussion material during a meeting between the Policy Research @ HKIAPS of the Chinese University ofContinue reading “Report Discussion on Education Hub at Social Solution Initiative, Osaka University”

Possible causes behind the recent economic crisis of Sri Lanka

Background A perfect storm has been riding on Sri Lanka that causes a widespread impact on its economy, society and order. Due to the reckless tax cut and the sluggish tourism sector caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine War, the Sri Lanka government’s revenue dropped sharply with its budget deficit picking up. On theContinue reading “Possible causes behind the recent economic crisis of Sri Lanka”

The price level history of Hong Kong during the 1980s-2000s

From the mid-1980s to the beginning of the 2000s, Hong Kong’s price level as indicated by the Consumer Price Index fluctuated significantly, reaching the top of around 13% in 1991 and then falling into a negative zone after the Asian financial crisis. In contrast, the CPI from 2006 onwards has shown much lower volatility thanContinue reading “The price level history of Hong Kong during the 1980s-2000s”

Price level trends and possible causes in some ASEAN economies

Inflationary pressure in the United State has been piling up since the middle of 2020, whose price level as measured in the consumer price index(CPI) increased from almost zero per cent to 8.5% in May 2022, marking four-decade highs. During the same period, price levels in ASEAN economies also demonstrate an upward trend. Among selectedContinue reading “Price level trends and possible causes in some ASEAN economies”

Debate on dividend tax in Hong Kong

What is dividend tax? Dividend refers to the part of after-tax profits of a company for distribution to its shareholders in proportion to the number of shares they hold. With dividend tax imposed, part of companies’ dividend distribution will be taxed by a certain percentage. Hong Kong does not levy taxes on dividends. Dividends repatriatedContinue reading “Debate on dividend tax in Hong Kong”

Price control on gasoline, New Jersey USA

I. What happened In 2012, Hurricane Sandy greatly damaged New Jersey’s infrastructure and led to a temporary outage that disrupted the operation of some gas stations. Newspapers reported that 60% of the gas stations in New Jersey were closed. The sellers raised the gasoline price by as much as 30% in a day. New Jersey’sContinue reading “Price control on gasoline, New Jersey USA”

Price control on Uber, India 

I. What happened Uber is a well-known app providing ride-hailing services, with businesses operating around the world. It is a rather new business model – “the sharing economy” which matches up taxi passengers and drivers. In India before 2016 when price used to be unregulated, as opposed to the traditional taxi service providers mandated toContinue reading “Price control on Uber, India “

Price Control on food, Sri Lanka

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”

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”