Routledge Research On Public and Social Policy in Asia – serie

This book looks at the role of social policy and particularly social security in addressing the ongoing challenge of poverty in East Asia despite the region’s spectacular experience of economic growth in decent decades. The East Asian miracle resulted over the last four decades in a transformation of the region’s traditional agrarian economies and significant increases in standards of living for many ordinary people. Even though it was given little attention, poverty has remained an ongoing problem. The problem became particularly evident however with the Asian financial crisis of 1997 when many low income and middle class workers became unemployed. As a result of this crisis, the need for effective social policies and social security programs were recognized. The idea that economic growth would solve the problem of poverty was increasingly challenged. Even in China today, where rapid growth has created new employment opportunities and the promise of prosperity for many, the government has recognized that the problem of poverty cannot be addressed only through economic growth but that comprehensive social policies must be formulated, and this includes the development of an effective security system.

This is the first book to systematically chart and comparatively assess the trend towards private higher education in South East Asia. Caught between conflicting imperatives of spiralling demand, and limited resources, the balance between public and private higher education systems in South East, South, and East Asia has shifted markedly.The author’s detailed case studies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Viet Nam discuss and analyse significant policy issues and touch on key debates surrounding globalisation, including economic globalisation and structural adjustment, and the pressures of cultural globalisation, particularly the role of the English language. Debates surrounding the role of higher education in the ‘knowledge economy’, GATS and cross border trade in educational services are also treated, including the rise of offshore campuses in countries such as Malaysia and Viet Nam. What is argued is that we are witnessing not merely a changing balance between public and private sectors, but a blurring of borders between them, with public HEIs now often behaving more like private, for-profit institutions. The book charts and illustrates these trends, posing questions about their meaning, including issues of transparency, equity, and what the reforms might mean for traditional conceptions of public good in higher education.

Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong SAR are among the very lowest-fertility countries in the whole world, and even China has reached fertility levels lower than those in many European countries. If these levels continue over long periods East Asia will soon face accelerating population decline in addition the changes in age distributions in such populations raise major new questions for planning of economic and social welfare. This book brings together work by noted experts on the low fertility countries of East Asia with an up-to-date analysis of trends in fertility, what we know about their determinants and consequences, the policy issues and how these are being addressed in the various countries. Its role in bringing together information on policy trends and initiatives of a pro-natalist kind adopted over recent years in these countries is extremely important, as is the fact that the discussion of these pro-natalist policies is set in the context of a thorough analysis of what has driven fertility so low in these countries. Ultra-Low Fertility in Pacific Asia is invaluable to students and scholars of East Asian public and social policy, as well as fertility studies more generally.

There are a multitude of hazards that confront attempts to change institutional or political orders in pursuit of good governance. Even seemingly technical prescriptions run up against local political and social realities which make their adoption difficult and, if adopted, require significant modification of the original prescriptions. Moreover, the technical, rationalist and/or normative language employed in the good governance discourse masks contests over power, rights, resources, and actors’ conflicting interests. There is a definite need to situate the good governance debate in the local context rather than reflexively adopting a universalistic positing of the fact or desirability of governance convergence across countries and sectors because the reality is that the world-wide deployment of good governance rhetoric is not accompanied by convergence in thinking or practices across nations. Transforming Asian Governance asks:• How do good governance principles translate into local settings?• How do local settings influence the conception of what is good governance and how the debate over good governance is deployed as a political or administrative strategy?Using case studies in governance from Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Korea and Japan, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the public and social policy of Asia, and international and comparative governance more generally.

Grassroots Social Security in Asia investigates the role of mutual associations in providing income protection to low-income people in Asia and in particular the region's developing countries. Historically, these associations have consisted of small groups of people with common interests who save regularly to support, maintain and supplement their incomes. Members make regular contributions to a communal fund which is used to provide income protection when they experience financial hardship.This book is the first to comprehensively document the activities of mutual associations and their microinsurance programs in Asia where these programs are especially well developed. It provides a number of important case studies that provide detailed information about mutual associations in different parts of the region, covering South Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Mongolia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The case studies offer important insights into the potential of mutual associations to offer effective income protection and how their activities can contribute to the formulation of comprehensive and effective grassroots social security strategies in the developing world that make a tangible contribution to the goal of poverty eradication and the improvement of standards of living.This book will be of interest to policy makers, academics and students in the fields of Asian studies, Social security studies and development studies.

There are a multitude of hazards that confront attempts to change institutional or political orders in pursuit of good governance. Even seemingly technical prescriptions run up against local political and social realities which make their adoption difficult and, if adopted, require significant modification of the original prescriptions. Moreover, the technical, rationalist and/or normative language employed in the good governance discourse masks contests over power, rights, resources, and actors’ conflicting interests. There is a definite need to situate the good governance debate in the local context rather than reflexively adopting a universalistic positing of the fact or desirability of governance convergence across countries and sectors because the reality is that the world-wide deployment of good governance rhetoric is not accompanied by convergence in thinking or practices across nations. Transforming Asian Governance asks:• How do good governance principles translate into local settings?• How do local settings influence the conception of what is good governance and how the debate over good governance is deployed as a political or administrative strategy?Using case studies in governance from Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Korea and Japan, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the public and social policy of Asia, and international and comparative governance more generally.

Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong SAR are among the very lowest-fertility countries in the whole world, and even China has reached fertility levels lower than those in many European countries. If these levels continue over long periods East Asia will soon face accelerating population decline in addition the changes in age distributions in such populations raise major new questions for planning of economic and social welfare. This book brings together work by noted experts on the low fertility countries of East Asia with an up-to-date analysis of trends in fertility, what we know about their determinants and consequences, the policy issues and how these are being addressed in the various countries. Its role in bringing together information on policy trends and initiatives of a pro-natalist kind adopted over recent years in these countries is extremely important, as is the fact that the discussion of these pro-natalist policies is set in the context of a thorough analysis of what has driven fertility so low in these countries. Ultra-Low Fertility in Pacific Asia is invaluable to students and scholars of East Asian public and social policy, as well as fertility studies more generally.

This book looks at the role of social policy and particularly social security in addressing the ongoing challenge of poverty in East Asia despite the region’s spectacular experience of economic growth in decent decades. The East Asian miracle resulted over the last four decades in a transformation of the region’s traditional agrarian economies and significant increases in standards of living for many ordinary people. Even though it was given little attention, poverty has remained an ongoing problem. The problem became particularly evident however with the Asian financial crisis of 1997 when many low income and middle class workers became unemployed. As a result of this crisis, the need for effective social policies and social security programs were recognized. The idea that economic growth would solve the problem of poverty was increasingly challenged. Even in China today, where rapid growth has created new employment opportunities and the promise of prosperity for many, the government has recognized that the problem of poverty cannot be addressed only through economic growth but that comprehensive social policies must be formulated, and this includes the development of an effective security system.

East Asia is at the heart of the global economic transformation, and the countries of the region are witnessing rapidly changing labour markets, alongside the pressure to cut production costs and lower taxes in order to become successful ‘competition states’. These changes have resulted in increased welfare demands which governments, organizations and agencies across the region have had to address. This book examines welfare regimes in the Greater China region, encompassing mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. In so doing, it explores the ways in which the rapid growth and internationalisation of the economy across Greater China is presenting new social policy challenges that governments, social welfare organizations and agencies in the region are having to respond to. Rather than simply describing and categorising welfare systems, the contributors to this volume add to our understanding of how one of the major economic transformations of the contemporary era in East Asia is shaping welfare provision in the region. In turn, in this context of economic change, they examine the new strategies and measures that have been adopted in order to reduce the heavy burden on the state in terms of welfare provision, whilst also attempting to diversify funding and provision sources to meet the pressing welfare needs.Based upon extensive fieldwork by leading scholars of social policy, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Asian social policy, comparative development and social policy, social welfare and Chinese studies.

A society’s response to youth crime reveals much about its broader cultural values, social circumstances, and political affairs. This book examines reactions and policy responses to youth delinquency and crime in Hong Kong during its colonial and post-colonial periods, and in doing so, underscores the history of Hong Kong itself and its present-day circumstances. Exploring how officials have responded to youth crime in Hong Kong over time, this book tracks the emergence of a penal elitist mode of governance, highlighting concerns not only about young people’s behavior but the need for officials to establish state authority and promote citizen identification. In turn, it reveals an alternative to the ‘usual story’ about youth crime found in many western regions and provides an opportunity to begin to develop a comparative criminology. The book examines the emergence of the ‘disciplinary welfare’ tariff during the 1970s, debates and policy changes related to the minimum age of criminal responsibility and youth sex crimes, and inaction regarding the introduction of restorative justice initiatives in the post-colonial era. It also addresses the power of ‘Post-80s’ youth to protest and challenge government policies, which directly combat contemporary fears regarding the ‘mainlandization’ of Hong Kong. Drawing on archival sources, official reports and interviews with key stakeholders in the juvenile justice system, Responding to Youth Crime in Hong Kong will appeal to students and scholars interested in Chinese society, criminology, social work, sociology and youth studies.

This is the first book to systematically chart and comparatively assess the trend towards private higher education in South East Asia. Caught between conflicting imperatives of spiralling demand, and limited resources, the balance between public and private higher education systems in South East, South, and East Asia has shifted markedly.The author’s detailed case studies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Viet Nam discuss and analyse significant policy issues and touch on key debates surrounding globalisation, including economic globalisation and structural adjustment, and the pressures of cultural globalisation, particularly the role of the English language. Debates surrounding the role of higher education in the ‘knowledge economy’, GATS and cross border trade in educational services are also treated, including the rise of offshore campuses in countries such as Malaysia and Viet Nam. What is argued is that we are witnessing not merely a changing balance between public and private sectors, but a blurring of borders between them, with public HEIs now often behaving more like private, for-profit institutions. The book charts and illustrates these trends, posing questions about their meaning, including issues of transparency, equity, and what the reforms might mean for traditional conceptions of public good in higher education.

Grassroots Social Security in Asia investigates the role of mutual associations in providing income protection to low-income people in Asia and in particular the region's developing countries. Historically, these associations have consisted of small groups of people with common interests who save regularly to support, maintain and supplement their incomes. Members make regular contributions to a communal fund which is used to provide income protection when they experience financial hardship.This book is the first to comprehensively document the activities of mutual associations and their microinsurance programs in Asia where these programs are especially well developed. It provides a number of important case studies that provide detailed information about mutual associations in different parts of the region, covering South Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Mongolia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The case studies offer important insights into the potential of mutual associations to offer effective income protection and how their activities can contribute to the formulation of comprehensive and effective grassroots social security strategies in the developing world that make a tangible contribution to the goal of poverty eradication and the improvement of standards of living.This book will be of interest to policy makers, academics and students in the fields of Asian studies, Social security studies and development studies.

Between 2000 and 2010, Singapore witnessed a huge influx of foreign migrants. The proportion of permanent residents in the total population increased from 7% to 11%, while the share of non-resident foreigners has risen from 19% to 25%. This was as much the result of the spontaneous movement of labour to economic opportunities, as it was of active policy direction by the Singapore government. The social impact, both beneficial and disruptive, of this movement was felt at all levels of society, and brought other attending public policy issues to the fore.Taking a multi-disciplinary approach with a focus on policy and practice, this book examines the social, economic, and political issues that have arisen with the influx of foreigners in Singapore since the turn of the 21st century. Drawing on empirical research, it documents the impact of increasing levels of immigration, and provides an analysis of the longer-term implications of these trends, with each chapter covering a different aspect of socio-cultural, political, or economic outcome arising from intercultural contact and adaptation. The contributors also provide policy suggestions to ensure Singapore continues to be a harmonious nation and a cosmopolitan and vibrant global city. Migration and Integration in Singapore: Policies and Practice will appeal to students and scholars of Southeast Asian studies, migration and social policy, as well as to practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in migration in the region.

A society’s response to youth crime reveals much about its broader cultural values, social circumstances, and political affairs. This book examines reactions and policy responses to youth delinquency and crime in Hong Kong during its colonial and post-colonial periods, and in doing so, underscores the history of Hong Kong itself and its present-day circumstances. Exploring how officials have responded to youth crime in Hong Kong over time, this book tracks the emergence of a penal elitist mode of governance, highlighting concerns not only about young people’s behavior but the need for officials to establish state authority and promote citizen identification. In turn, it reveals an alternative to the ‘usual story’ about youth crime found in many western regions and provides an opportunity to begin to develop a comparative criminology. The book examines the emergence of the ‘disciplinary welfare’ tariff during the 1970s, debates and policy changes related to the minimum age of criminal responsibility and youth sex crimes, and inaction regarding the introduction of restorative justice initiatives in the post-colonial era. It also addresses the power of ‘Post-80s’ youth to protest and challenge government policies, which directly combat contemporary fears regarding the ‘mainlandization’ of Hong Kong. Drawing on archival sources, official reports and interviews with key stakeholders in the juvenile justice system, Responding to Youth Crime in Hong Kong will appeal to students and scholars interested in Chinese society, criminology, social work, sociology and youth studies.

Between 2000 and 2010, Singapore witnessed a huge influx of foreign migrants. The proportion of permanent residents in the total population increased from 7% to 11%, while the share of non-resident foreigners has risen from 19% to 25%. This was as much the result of the spontaneous movement of labour to economic opportunities, as it was of active policy direction by the Singapore government. The social impact, both beneficial and disruptive, of this movement was felt at all levels of society, and brought other attending public policy issues to the fore.Taking a multi-disciplinary approach with a focus on policy and practice, this book examines the social, economic, and political issues that have arisen with the influx of foreigners in Singapore since the turn of the 21st century. Drawing on empirical research, it documents the impact of increasing levels of immigration, and provides an analysis of the longer-term implications of these trends, with each chapter covering a different aspect of socio-cultural, political, or economic outcome arising from intercultural contact and adaptation. The contributors also provide policy suggestions to ensure Singapore continues to be a harmonious nation and a cosmopolitan and vibrant global city. Migration and Integration in Singapore: Policies and Practice will appeal to students and scholars of Southeast Asian studies, migration and social policy, as well as to practitioners and policy-makers with an interest in migration in the region.