A longitudinal study of intergenerational transmission of poverty in Hong Kong across the 2010s : Social investment, homeownership and mother’s education

This study examines the extent to which poverty is passed from parents to children in Hong Kong based on the social investment thesis. Through tracking the educational and career trajectories of the second generation (aged 23–25) of 77 families, this study suggests that adolescents with poor parents have a 202 percent higher chance of being poor in young adulthood. This poverty-continuation probability increases dramatically to 681 percent if parental poverty is defined in terms of homeownership rather than income. Another important factor that also affects intergenerational poverty is the mother’s educational level. Implications for social workers and policy makers are discussed.