Welfare state transformations in East Asia: an analysis post-2000s

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the qualitative transformations in East Asian welfare states since the 2000s. First, I distinguish institutional legacies in light of typologies drawn in the literature: “developmental-inclusive” (Japan and South Korea)”; “individualists” (China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore), and “incipient” (Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam). I argue that the first group has deepened the process of expanding its social policies under a universalist approach, but has redesigned the linkage between industrial policy and social policy, as well as it has fostered defamiliazation policies. China moves away from the “individualist” group towards a “hybrid” type, by greatly expanding public provision, albeit through a dual and stratified system. Finally, the “individualists” and the “incipient” expanding the role of the state on social risks through policies focused on low-income families.

Keywords
Welfare State; Developmental Welfare State; East Asia; Social policies; Social protection