Much Ado About Nothing? Do Foreign Domestic Workers in Hong Kong Benefit From Capital Accumulation

Bibliographic Data

ID3758581
AuthorsYuying Tong (0000-0002-0567-0666, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR), Niantao Jiang (The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR)
Year2020
Volume64
Issue6
Pages823-840
Publication date2020-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764220910236
OpenAlexW3011275138
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited30

The accumulation of human and social capital plays a significant role in influencing migrants' earnings and economic integration in the host society. Although the effects of foreign domestic workers' bargaining power on their labor market outcome is constrained due to their unique migrant status, domestic workers may still strive to make use of various resources to secure "ideal" jobs as much as possible. Using a randomly selected unique data set collected in Hong Kong in 2017, this study examines whether foreign domestic workers' human and social capitals are associated with their salary scale, working conditions, and work rights protection. We use education, previously held jobs, migration duration, and language proficiency to measure human capital, and friendship networks and church attendance to indicate social capital. We found that previously having middle-level job experience can reduce the likelihood of experiencing underpay and increase the likelihood of having overpay, taking the legal minimum salary as a reference. English language proficiency could also give them some leverage to access a better pay scale. Previous human capital accumulation is associated with having a private room in the employer's home. It is also associated with better protection of work rights such as being less likely to experience a "no pay" month. For social capital, frequent participation in Sunday gathering with friends is mainly associated with rights protection. These findings indicate that although foreign domestic workers may be constrained in using their capital accumulation to improve their market value substantially, the capital accumulation can still give some leverage for them to bargain for a slightly improved salary, better working conditions, and protection of their rights

Business · Demographic economics · Earnings · Economic growth · Economics · Human capital · Labour economics · Leverage (statistics) · Market economy · Political science · Salary · Social capital · Finance · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Work-Family Balance Challenges

Tools

Open DOI