Source Analysis Paper Sample: Fixing Inequality in Hong Kong

My primary source of choice is "Fixing inequality in Hong Kong Y. Wong - Hong Kong University Press - 2017."

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The producer of the source is the Hong Kong University Press, HKU. The source focuses on poverty and inequality in Hong Kong. Wong argues that the best way to fix the poverty situation in Hong Kong would be to set a long-term strategy on the human resource policy because issues such as setting up a minimum wage for the citizens and implementing universal retirement benefits for the citizens are ineffective in reducing the inequality gap. The intended audience for this source is the Hong Kong government, which is responsible for policy implementations such as the one Wong recommends. Also, the government is capable of changing the education and immigration situations recommended by Wong as necessary areas of investment.

From the source, the author's perspective is that there are interlinked problems in Hong Kong. For instance, the housing policy in Hong Kong affects education, which in turn affects human capital, which affects income distribution, which will collectively affect the overall demand for housing. Wong (2017) affirms that every issue has to be investigated and solved individually, but he suggests a common policy solution that is likely to affect the rest.

In most cases, it is difficult to identify the central problem when issues interlock like this, but Wong nonetheless gave his opinion that the population was the most pressing problem. He also suggests that underdevelopment of human capital could also be the cause of the poverty situation in Hong Kong since according to him, Singapore has better immigration and education policies than Hong Kong, which has undoubtedly improved Singapore's housing policies (Wong, 2017).

His point of view affects the credibility of the source because the readers feel like they hear the source from one perspective. Had the author not stated his opinion, the readers would have a variety of perceptions about the poverty situation in Hong Kong. Therefore, the reception of the source is solely based on the author's point of view.

This source was produced and published in 2017, and the main issues illustrated in it such as the minimum wage, solving the equality gap, housing problems and rising divorce rates were all current affairs across the world in 2017. The issues identified in the source such as the equality gap and the ones mentioned above are also vastly mentioned in other primary sources produced along the same period.

The source is authentic because the records used by the author to support his argument are all close to the events discussed in the article. Wong (2017) also points out firsthand knowledge and experience of the facts presented, which improves the credibility of the source. Besides, the author supports his claims with information from other sources that have been verified as authentic. Therefore, the cause is highly believable.

Wong (2017) tries his best to deprive himself of political affiliations, but it has not been easy since the government is the principal body to implement most of the solutions. Therefore, the facts presented in this source have humanistic bias although Wong ties to suggest practical policy solutions for all the problems he mentions. Therefore, the cause is most of the time clear and easy to understand, but the subject is highly complex. Thus, the author tried his best to make the readers believe his claims.

References

Wong, Y. (2017). Fixing Inequality in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt1rfzz9q