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Income Transfers to the Elderly in East Asia: Testing Asian Values

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  • Huck-ju Kwon

Abstract

This article examines the role of family and the state in relation to the living standards of the elderly in East Asia. It tries to test whether familial arrangement according to Confucian ethics, which are still taken seriously in East Asia, secures the minimum standard of living for the elderly. This article, first, examines the social policy institutions for the elderly in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. It argues that public policy in the region assumes the family as primarily responsible for elderly people's living standards. Secondly, this article analyses private and public income transfers to elderly households, based on micro-data sets for South Korea and Taiwan. It argues that private transfers do make important contributions to the income of the elderly households, particularly poorer households, while public transfers do not make any significant impact. This suggests that Confucian ethics are still working. Private transfers, however, fail to secure the minimum standards of living of the elderly. The elderly households are far more prone to poverty. The findings of this paper support the case for state action to protect the living standards of the elderly in East Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Huck-ju Kwon, 1999. "Income Transfers to the Elderly in East Asia: Testing Asian Values," CASE Papers 027, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:sticas:027
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    File URL: https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cp/CASEpaper27.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Didier Jacobs, 1998. "Social Welfare Systems in East Asia: A Comparative Analysis including Private Welfare," CASE Papers 010, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    2. Didier Jacobs, 1998. "Social Welfare Systems in East Asia: A Comparative Analysis including Private Welfare," CASE Papers case10, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    3. Yeun-wen Ku, 1997. "Welfare Capitalism in Taiwan," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-37787-5, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Barrientos, Armando, 2012. "What is the Role of Social Pensions in Asia?," ADBI Working Papers 351, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    2. John Gibson & Susan Olivia & Scott Rozelle, 2011. "How widespread are nonlinear crowding out effects? The response of private transfers to income in four developing countries," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(27), pages 4053-4068.
    3. John Gibson & Susan Olivia & Scott Rozelle, 2006. "How Widespread are Non-linear Crowding Out Out Effects? The Response of Private Transfers to Income in Four Developing Countries," Working Papers in Economics 06/01, University of Waikato.
    4. Schmähl, Winfried, 2002. "Old-age security in Bhutan: From lump-sum payments towards a pension scheme," Working papers of the ZeS 06/2002, University of Bremen, Centre for Social Policy Research (ZeS).
    5. Roger Goodman & Sarah Harper, 2006. "Introduction: Asia's Position in the New Global Demography," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(4), pages 373-385.

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