Social inclusion of the older population in response to the 2008 financial tsunami in Hong Kong

Abstract

ABSTRACTSocial inclusion of the older population in employment, housing, social protection and other livelihood aspects was predicted to suffer because of the financial tsunami in Hong Kong in 2008. An expected mitigating factor of the impact on social inclusion was social cohesion, which is the focus of the present study. A total of 1,352 Hong Kong Chinese adults were surveyed in 2009. The results show that social cohesion is perceived in Hong Kong to have mitigated the negative impact of the financial tsunami in terms of support for public policy relating to social inclusion of the older population. These results have implications for sustaining social cohesion as a means to promote the social inclusion of the older population.