bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

David Dodwell

As if worries about Omicron were not enough, recent weeks have seen alarm bells ringing over inflation. Disruption of fresh vegetable supplies, as infected truck drivers have been held at the mainland border crossing, has combined with the usual Lunar New Year price surge to trigger a wave of panic buying.
The supply chain disruption was a warning of more than inflation. It was a reminder of Hong Kong’s extraordinary food insecurity. We not only have to import 90 per cent of our food but rely on the mainland for 90 per cent or more of our pork, beef and vegetables.
Ever since the 2020 swine flu outbreak tore through China’s pig population, I have grown used to the sorry sight of old ladies in my local wet market digging into their purses to afford an ounce or two of minced pork. But the price of bak choi jumping from the usual HK$20 per catty to HK$45 (US$2.50 to US$5.80) has been a bit of a shock.
Heads of broccoli are also more expensive – usually three for HK$14 but last weekend up to HK$20 for a single head. Our cooking oil has jumped from HK$72 for five litres to HK$115, and our normal pack of salt has jumped to HK$4.90 after selling last month at HK$2.90.
It seems inflation has returned. As with the rest of the world, there are arguments about whether it is likely to be temporary or sustained.


And yet, if you ask our Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong’s consumer price index (CPI) is up by just 2.4 per cent and by only 1.4 per cent when factoring out the government’s one-off relief measures in the past year. That all seems modest compared with the surge in the United States to 7.5 per cent in January and to 5.4 per cent in Britain.
The government’s most recent Economic Situation Report tells us that “underlying inflation should stay broadly in check in the near term”. We suffered a 54.2 per cent surge in electricity, gas and water charges in December and clothing and footwear prices were up by 8.7 per cent, but food prices were up by just 1.9 per cent.
It’s not that the Census and Statistics Department is lying. Rather, the problem is that the data does not provide the insights we need.
Tim Harford wrote in last week’s Financial Times that in Britain, the Office for National Statistics collects 6,000 price quotations every day across the UK to compile its consumer price index. I am sure our Census and Statistics Department staff here are similarly conscientious.




“Is this statistical firepower well-aimed?” Harford asks. “Yes, if the aim is to measure inflation across the economy. But no if we want to understand what is happening to the poorest households.” He notes that the average colour of a rainbow is white, but this average provides no glimpse into what a rainbow actually looks like.
The challenge he raises is to the system by which most statistical agencies measure inflation. It is often meaningless when it comes to measuring the suffering of our poorest households or tailoring government policies that can provide relief where it is most effective.
That means they are not the most useful numbers for Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po as he finalises the relief he is under pressure to include in his budget later this month. Spending on wine, steak, abalone and international holidays might be elements of the CPI, but they only apply to Hong Kong’s wealthier families.
Devising an index that focuses on the spending needs of the poor might be a good idea. Work on this by Chris Giles of the Financial Times suggests “inflation is much the same for everyone”.
Hong Kong consumers feel inflation pinch, but is there light at end of tunnel?
Our statisticians are unable to take meaningful account of how humans behave in the face of hardship and how families tweak their shopping habits when budgets are under stress. Faced with a tight budget, a family is first going to list the essentials.
That list is going to vary from country to country. In the US or UK, petrol prices will be a high priority, with recent oil price increases imposing a fierce squeeze on almost every household budget.
In Hong Kong, with public transport being fast and efficient, car ownership is low and petrol prices are unlikely to be high on the “essentials” list of most working-class families. The first step for a hard-pressed family is to get clear about the essentials, separate the needs from the wants and recognise that the wants have to wait.
There are then some essentials you don’t need to buy tomorrow. For some essentials, an immediate option is to trade down on brands. That is why supermarkets have their in-house brands.
A savvy shopper on a tight budget will also head for the “reduced to clear” shelves or take advantage of special offers. My wife meticulously combs the Wellcome and ParknShop websites to compare prices and catch good offers.
Needless to say, no statistician working on the CPI has the capacity to take any reliable account of price volatility. On the contrary, their job is to ignore such oscillations.
Their task is to track the same goods, month after month, even though this is next to useless for a hard-pressed household shopper or a financial secretary preparing a budget in which he knows he has to prioritise government support to those most in need.
Most statisticians will provide data that shows “white rainbows” all over the place, but what we need is data that can pick out the colours. Without that, our poorest families will not get the help they need and our government will be wasting our money.
David Dodwell researches and writes about global, regional and Hong Kong challenges from a Hong Kong point of view


How Hong Kong inflation data obscures the insight needed to help poorer families

People buy vegetables and fruit at a wet market in North Point on February 8. Vegetable supplies in Hong Kong have been tight because of transport disruptions at the mainland border. Photo: Sam Tsang

Opinion

Comment

Business

News

Hong Kong


While not inaccurate, the official figures have little meaning when it comes to assessing poorer households’ suffering or shaping public policy
An inability to target government support will result in families not getting the help they need and taxpayers’ money being wasted



While not inaccurate, the official figures mean little when it comes to assessing poorer households’ suffering or shaping public policy. An inability to target government support will result in families not getting the help they need and taxpayers’ money being wasted.


Coronavirus Hong Kong

Hong Kong economy

China inflation

Inside Out & Outside In

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Column

Outside In

Outside In | How Hong Kong inflation data obscures the insight needed to help poorer families

While not inaccurate, the official figures have little meaning when it comes to assessing poorer households’ suffering or shaping public policy An inability to target government support will result in families not getting the help they need and taxpayers’ money being wasted

While not inaccurate, the official figures have little meaning when it comes to assessing poorer households’ suffering or shaping public policy

An inability to target government support will result in families not getting the help they need and taxpayers’ money being wasted