NETWORK CAPITAL - EMIGRATION FROM HONG-KONG

In this paper, we argue that it would be fruitful to regard personal n etworks as a form of capital capable of generating economic returns by drawing on our research findings on the recent wave of emigration fro m Hong Kong. By putting network capital on a par with economic and cul tural capital, we seek to identify its distinctive features in terms o f institutionalization, capacity, moral economy, and processes of conv ersion and reproduction. In substantiating our argument, we present so me quantitative evidence from our survey data on the uneven distributi on of kinship ties which can be mobilized for emigration among differe nt occupational classes. We then make use of our in-depth interview da ta to show that there is a qualitative variation too in the type of ne tworks used by different occupational classes for emigration purposes. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of the concept of netwo rk capital for the study of migration, class formation, and the global economy.