Prof Eric W C Fong
Chair Professor in Sociology
Associate Dean (T & L), Faculty of Social Sciences
3917 7439
9.16, 9/F., The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus
Eric Fong joined the University of Hong Kong in 2020 from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he served as chair of the Department of Sociology and the inaugural Director of the Research Centre on Migration and Mobility. Prior to returning to Hong Kong in 2016, Fong had been a professor of sociology at the University of Toronto for more than 20 years. He was also Changjiang Chair Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University.
Fong formerly served as President of the Canadian Population Society and the North America Chinese Sociologist Association, as well as Chair of the International Migration Section of the American Sociological Association. Fong publishes widely on race and ethnic residential patterns and immigration. His latest book with Brent Berry, Immigration and the City, was published by Polity Press in 2017.
PhD
University of ChicagoMigration
Race and Ethnicity
Urban sociology
Migrant Domestic Workers in Hong Kong
Chinese migration in Asia
High-skilled migration in Hong Kong and mainland
Honorary Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, Xian Jiaotong University (2020-present)
Academic Counsel, Center for Chinese Entrepreneur Studies, Tsinghua University, China (2012-present)
Changjiang Chair Professor at Xi’an Jiaotong University (2016-2019)
President, Hong Kong Sociological Association (2020-2022)
Chair, International Migration Section, American Sociological Association (2012-2013)
President, Canadian Population Society (2012-2014)
Section Chair, International Migration Section, American Sociological Association (2012-13)
Dean's Excellence Award, University of Toronto (1997, 1998, 2000-2003)
Editorial Board
Demography, Deputy Editor (2018-present)
International Migration Review (2018-present)
Social Science Research (2014-present)
Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies (2013-present)
Asian Population Studies (2020- present)
Chinese Journal of Sociology (2019- present)
Journal of Population Studies (2011-present)
Forthcoming
"Workplace Arrangements and Language Acquisition of Immigrants." International Migration Review (Yuyao Liu and Eric Fong)
"Are couples’ relative resources and birthplaces related to household decisions to hire migrant domestic workers?" Journal of Family Studies (Yuyao Liu and Eric Fong ) https://doi.org/10.1080/13229400.2025.2599999
"Whose Education Matters? The Protective Role of Education in the Acculturation of Immigrant Women Facing Foreign-Origin Discrimination in South Korea." Population Research and Policy Review (Hansol Park, Eric Fong, and Jinho Kim)
"Do works Councils and Collective Agreements Narrow Immigrant–Native Wage Gaps for Disadvantaged Immigrant Groups? Novel Evidence from German-Linked Employer-Employee Data" Socio-Economic Review mwaf046 (Florian Zimmermann, Tobias Wolbring, Eric Fong) https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwaf046
"Citizenship status and requirement, culture and immigrants’ attitudes toward local immigration: A study of 21 western and non-western societies " Social Science Research 130(Aug), 103204 (Yuyao Liu and Eric Fong) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2025.103204
"Participation in Social Movement and Emigration Intention: A Study of Hong Kong Social Movement in 2019" International Migration Review (Eric Fong, Xi Ni, and Pui Kwan Man) https://doi.org/10.1177/01979183251316523“The poverty risk of East and South-East Asian migrant households in Germany The role of human capital, employment, and intermarriage.” Journal for Labour Market Research (Tobias Wolbring; Eva Köhler; Eric Fong)
2025
"Narrative of Governing Emigration: A case study in Hong Kong" Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies" Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 51(18) 4726-2743 (Ka Wang Kelvin Lam, Eric Fong, and Xinxin Wang) https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2025.2544087
"Time to Leave? Emigration Tendencies in Hong Kong After the 1997 Handover and the 2019 Social Movement" Population, Space, and Place 31(3): 70027 (Ka Wang Kelvin Lam and Eric Fong) https://doi.org/10.1002/psp.70027
“Beyond Borders: Understanding Themes and Transitions in Skilled Migration Research Through Machine Learning Methods and Sociological Frameworks” Socius 11 (Yuyao Liu and Eric Fong) https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251374111
"The Promises and Perils of AI for Sociology" Sociology 59(6):1129-1134 (Anson Au and Eric Fong) https://doi.org/10.1177/00380385251357523
“The poverty risk of East and South-East Asian migrant households in Germany The role of human capital, employment, and intermarriage.” Journal for Labour Market Research 59, 21 (Tobias Wolbring; Eva Köhler; Eric Fong) https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-025-00408-y
"Perceptions of Workplace Gender Discrimination and Fertility Intentions Among Married Working Women in Korea: Insights from Asymmetric Fixed Effects Models" Population Research and Policy Review 44, 39 (Hyunseo Rim, Keun Young Kwon, Eric Fong, Jinho Kim)
"Income Inequality of South Asians in Hong Kong: the role of race, religion and human capital" Asian Population Studies 1-19 (Shafei Gu and Eric Fong) https://doi.org/10.1080/17441730.2025.2471123
"Diverse Experiences of University Education and Entrepreneurship of Native-born and Immigrants in Canada" Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy 14(3): 468-490 (Eric Fong, Pui Kwan Man, and John Ye) https://doi.org/10.1108/JEPP-01-2024-0007