Laissez-faire Hong Kong meets the five-year plan
What Hong Kong is attempting to do is better understood as industrial policy.
Milton Friedman, a renowned economist, found Hong Kong's laissez-faire approach perplexing during his visit in 1963. What baffled him was the lack of official data and the absence of a GDP series, which John Cowperthwaite, Hong Kong's financial secretary at the time, explained was due to the government's aversion to state intervention.
This stance, which was once a hallmark of Hong Kong's economic success, appears to be a relic of the past as the city has recently unveiled its first five-year plan. The unveiling of this plan has sparked debate on whether it signifies a shift towards a more centralized, planned economy ahead of Hong Kong's 30th anniversary of being returned to China next year.
The larger significance of this move, however, is that Chief Executive John Lee is aligning with a global trend.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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