Wong, J M W; Chiang, Y H and Ng, T S (2008) Construction and economic development: The case of Hong Kong. Construction Management and Economics, 26(8), pp. 815-826. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
The role of construction in economic development is an important issue facing the construction research community, government and international development agencies. Based on empirical analyses, the complexities of the relationship between construction activity and stage of economic development in Hong Kong were examined. With time series data, Granger causality test results show that the construction output particularly the infrastructure sector drives the economic growth of Hong Kong, and not vice versa. Findings further indicate that the role of the local construction industry changes as the economy matures from newly industrializing country (NIC) to advanced industrialized country (AIC) status, as revealed by the diminishing rate of capacity addition by construction as well as the growing maintenance and repair sector. This complies with Bon's inverted U-shaped relationship between construction activity and gross domestic product (GDP). However, the proposition of 'volume follows share' is not supported since the indigenous construction investments still sustain for the service-oriented economy which inevitably needs commercial development and logistics infrastructure to provide the services. The results may be significant for policy makers in NICs, in the long run, to formulate corporate and industrial policies to chart out a viable and sustainable course to revive the vigour of the industry.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | bon curve; construction industry; economic development; Hong Kong; investments |
| Index terms: | construction industry, economic growth, commercial development, construction activity, gross domestic product, Hong Kong, complexity, construction output, repair, infrastructure sector, agency, industrial policy, international development, time series, Granger causality test, economic development |
| Subjects: | maintenance engineering, economic development, factor and component analysis, Geography, sociology, systems engineering, industry analysis, construction type, strategic management, operations management, economic analysis, data science, construction operations |
| Topics: | Construction Technology, Governance, Sustainability, Business Strategy, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Site Management, International Construction |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here