Relationship of housing affordability and fertility rates in Hong Kong

Abstract

The low fertility rate is a big issue in the world. It is not surprising that it is also a problem that the Hong Kong Government wants to solve, and the fertility rate in Hong Kong is the lowest in the world. However, the effectiveness of the policy, which encourages the young Hong Kong people to have children, is not very successful. Indeed, before the policy, the most influential factor for the young Hong Kong people should be found in order to use the appropriate methods to tackle this issue. In the study, 5 factors will be chosen to compare and find out which one is the most influential in Hong Kong via questionnaire and interview. Before the data collection, from the literature review, housing affordability and women empowerment were the 2 most influential factors in Hong Kong. The result of collecting 112 online questionnaires and interviewing 4 respondents was used to analyse and discuss. Last but not least, some suggestions will be provided to tackle the most influential factor in the low fertility rate in Hong Kong.