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In a knowledge-based economy, a person¡¦s social mobility largely depends on his/her level of knowledge and skills; and a society¡¦s competitiveness depends on the availability of a pool of talent needed for its development.

 The youth nowadays are bracing for new challenges ahead. To fully participate in a knowledge-based economy, it is vital for them to have continuing learning opportunities, rich life experiences and broad social networks. On the other hand, will this highly competitive environment create more obstacles to the life of those young people who are either from low-income families or have left school and are without a job? And what will be the effect on their learning opportunities, life exposure and social networks? Those are subjects worthy of concern.

 This study defines ¡§youth¡¨ as young people between the ages of 15 and 24. ¡§Low-income families¡¨ include families covered by the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, or families with a total family income below half of the medium family income, according to the number of family members. With reference to the latest figures released by the Census and Statistics Department, the following families are all considered to be ¡§low-income families¡¨: a family of two with a total income below $6,000, a family of three or four with a total income below $8,000, and a family of five or more with a total income below $10,000[1].  ¡§Non low-income families¡¨ refers to families which are not on the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, and those with a family income not less than half of the medium family income, as calculated according to the number of family members.

The information used in this study was obtained by a questionnaire survey on the living standard for youth in Hong Kong, with a view to understand the life of those who are from low-income families or unemployed. The survey was conducted in December 2004. To help gather the survey samples, we have respectively invited students of F.4 to F.7 from 17 secondary schools and non-students between the ages of 15 and 24 from 21 youth sport run by the federation to answer the questionnaires. 836 and 340 completed questionnaires were returned from the students and non-students respectively. 783 of these could be used for analysis. Some of the returned questionnaires could not be accepted for analysis purposes as they failed to provide the monthly family income figures.

In order to get a better understanding of the situations of the interviewees, the analysis was divided into ¡§student¡¨ and ¡§non-student¡¨ categories. The student group was further divided into ¡§low-income families¡¨ and ¡§non low-income families¡¨, and the non-student group was divided into two sub-groups: being employed and pending to be employed/unemployed.

 To further understand the living conditions and obstacles facing young people from a low-income family background and to make suggestions for improvement, the analysis was supplemented by interviews with experts and scholars and case studies on young people. 10 experts/scholars, including academics, legislators and members of non-governmental organizations were successfully interviewed in December 2004. For the case studies, we have conducted interviews with 16 young people aged 15 to 24, of which nine were males and seven were females.

The major findings are as follows:

 A .  Characteristics of the socio-economic background of youth from low-income families 

1.           1.    The parents of young people from low-income families tend to be less educated than those from non low-income families.

 2.    The parents of young people from low-income families are more likely non-skilled labourers or unemployed, than those from non low-income families.

 3.    Nearly 30% of the students from low-income families are not living with their father, mainly due to his decease or the separation of parents.  This occurs less often among students from non low-income families. The same reasons were given by young people in the non-student group who are not living with their father.

4.          4.  Among the students from low-income families, 43% were born in the Mainland, which is much more than the 12% for those from non low-income families. About 10% of young people from the non-student group were born in the Mainland.

B.             B.  The expectations on education levels and attitudes towards poverty and getting out of poverty by young people from low-income families

 1.    Both Students from low-income and non low-income families have high expectations on their education levels; however, the former are less optimistic about achieving high education levels than the latter. The gap between expectations and estimated achievements is the same in the non-student group including young people who are pending to be employed/unemployed and being employed.

 2.    Students from low-income families are positive towards the government¡¦s handling of poverty, while the opposite is true for those from the non-student group.

 3.    Students from low-income families tend to believe in the existence of equal opportunities in the society, that personal efforts can improve one¡¦s living conditions, and remain optimistic about their future prospects. They do not agree with the notion that ¡§poor parents can only have poor children¡¨. Young people from the non-student group, however, tend to agree they lack opportunities for improving living conditions in the present social environment. Yet, they also believe personal efforts can lead to better life chances and are optimistic about their future prospects. They too question the notion that ¡§poor parents can only have poor children¡¨.

 4.    More students from low-income families believe that ¡§poor people are being discriminated against by the society¡¨ than their counterparts from non low-income families. Similarly, more employed young people than those who are not having a job believe that ¡§poor people are being discriminated against by the society¡¨.

 5.    Students from both low-income and non low-income families tend to agree that individual inertia leads to poverty, but the percentage is higher among the latter group. The same results are found among the young people in the non-student group.

    C.  Learning and living conditions for young people from low-income families

 1.    Students from low-income families do not participate as often and spend as much in learning enhancement activities such as tuition classes, hiring private tutors and purchasing reference books/materials as those from better-off families.

 2.    Students from low-income families tend to consider tuition fees as an important factor in pursuing further studies; they also think their family¡¦s financial background diminishes their chances for learning and life exposure. For the non-students, nearly 40% of those who are not employed and who are having a job regard their family¡¦s financial background as an obstacle for chances of learning. However, only about 20% of them think it will diminish their life exposure. Young people who are employed tend to place more emphasis on tuition fees as an important element for further studies than their unemployed counterparts.

 3.    Students from both low-income and non low-income families more or less share the same experience in school. However, students from non low-income families engage more in other life experiences such as purchasing newspapers and magazines, participating in voluntary work, attending after-school interest and skill lessons, and traveling.

 4.    Students from low-income families, unemployed young people, and those who are working all have a positive attitude towards their communication skills, teamwork abilities, common sense and self-esteem. 

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