Pathways to State Welfare in Korea: Interests, Ideas and Institutions

by Hwang,Gyu-Jin

• ISBN13: 9780754642619
• ISBN10: 0754642615
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-05-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Why has Korean social policy developed differently from that of other East Asian countries?While in many respects Korea can be compared with Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, where economic development has been the chief priority of state action, Korea has also implemented extensive welfare reform, expanding its welfare provision even under recent conditions of economic downturn.Gyu-Jin Hwang traces the development of the Korean welfare state, providing a fascinating case study for observers of East Asian industrial growth and the public management of social risks. Arguing that the extension of state welfare presents a unique challenge to existing theoretical propositions underlying social policy development, he draws on detailed empirical analysis of key policy areas, namely public assistance, national pensions, health care and employment insurance.The book offers a definitive analysis of the development of Korean social policy programmes and the politics of implementing them. The book will be important reading for all those interested in comparative Social Policy and more specifically the development of Social Welfare in Asian countries.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	vi
List of Tables	vii
Acknowledgements	viii
List of Abbreviations	ix
Introduction	1	(4)
Analytical Foundations: Interests, Ideas, and Institutions	5	(19)
Public Assistance: From the Provision of Benefits to the Formulation of Rights	24	(29)
National Pensions: From an Instrument of Growth to Object of Distrust	53	(27)
National Health Insurance: From Segmentation to Greater Equality	80	(32)
Employment Insurance: From Structural Adjustment to Social Consensus	112	(30)
Conclusions: Pathways to State Welfare	142	(22)
Bibliography	164	(21)
Index	185