Can holidays boost consumption? The case of Hong Kong

Bala Ramasamy (First Author), Matthew C. H. Yeung (Participant Author), Alan K. M. Au (Participant Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal

Abstract

Hong Kong's domestic economy has been through a roller coaster ride over the past decade. In early 2004, increasing the number of holidays as a strategy to boost domestic consumption was mooted. In this paper, we estimate the effect of holidays on private domestic consumption in Hong Kong. We do this by estimating both the long term and short-term consumption functions. Our estimates suggest that an additional day holiday per quarter would increase private consumption expenditure (PCE) by HKD 213 on a per capita basis. Although an extra day holiday could add 0.34% to GDP, policy makers should also consider the possible costs (e.g. cost of unproductive) of such a policy.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)281-287
JournalJournal of Public Affairs
Volume8
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Corresponding author email

myeung@ouhk.edu.hk

Indexed by

  • ABDC-B
  • Scopus

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