Varieties of Social Policy: East Asian Welfare Capitalism in Comparative Perspective
Author(s)
Schmidt, Volker
Abstract
This paper speaks of East Asian Welfare Capitalism as a distinct variety of welfare capitalism. It deals exclusively with social policy arrangements found in the region, and it restricts itself to the five presently most advanced exemplars of East Asian Welfare Capitalism, i.e. Japan and the four tigers. Both the history of the respective policies and their main characteristics are well documented by now. Less clear, and more pertinent to the subject of the present volume, are these systems’ future prospects in the face of mounting adaptation pressures. All economically advanced countries have sophisticated welfare mechanisms in place that address the (basic) needs of their citizens. But some of these mechanisms perform better and/or seem more sustainable than others against the background of growing external competition and internal problems, thus offering more lessons for the engineering of viable reform options. Following a brief discussion of the key commonalities and differences of the five countries’ social policy regimes, this question is at the centre of the paper’s interest, and an attempt is made to venture some tentative answers.
