During the postwar period, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea emerged as industrial and democratic exemplars in the East Asia region. A less well-known story is of their equally remarkable achievements in social policy reform and the formation of welfare states. Section 1 of the Element provides an overview of welfare state deepening in Japan, Taiwan and Korea and an account of why and how the developmental states institutionalized the social insurance model. Section 2 examines the drivers of social welfare universalization in Japan, Taiwan and Korea, notably the importance of democratization. Section 3 focuses on emerging challenges to the East Asian welfare state and how it has adapted. Though Japan, South Korea and Taiwan evolved their welfare states in a distinctive way historically, the current challenges they face and their responses have converged with other developed, post-industrial democracies.
By:
Joseph Wong (University of Toronto) Imprint: Cambridge University Press Country of Publication: United Kingdom ISBN:9781108814799 ISBN 10: 1108814794 Series:Elements in Politics and Society in East Asia Pages: 82 Publication Date:06 February 2025 Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction; 1. The Developmental State and Social Policy; 2. Democratization and Social Welfare; 3. Adaptation for the Twenty-First Century; Conclusion: Exceptionalism to Universalism.