Perspective on Cross-border Residence of Hong Kong Citizens in the Chinese Mainland

This paper explores the phenomenon of Hong Kong citizens residing in mainland China. This situation is interesting as it involves two distinct institutional structures, rather than the one involved in conventional residential mobility. In addition, this is a different scenario, in which people move from a developed area to a comparatively developing area. This paper aims to determine how different attributes weigh in potential decisions about cross-border residence and the characteristics of these residents, from the ex ante perspective. A logistic regression model is used to gauge the effect of various factors on the stated preferences of cross-border residence. The findings suggest that the older generation has a higher preference for future cross-border residence than other demographic groups. This is in sharp contrast with conventional theories on residential mobility. This finding has implications with regard to government policies in areas such as social security, healthcare and housing provision. In addition, institutional factors play a critical role in restraining the intentions of several population groups. For instance, local public rental housing limits the desire for cross-border residence among its tenants, while the distinctive institutional arrangements between Hong Kong and mainland China, due to the "One country, two systems" policy, keep the younger, more educated class from potentially relocating to Mainland China.