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Democratization, post-industrialization, and East Asian welfare capitalism: the politics of welfare state reform in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan

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  • Fleckenstein, Timo
  • Lee, Soohyun Christine

Abstract

This review article provides an overview of the scholarship on the establishment and reform of East Asian welfare capitalism. The developmental welfare state theory and the related productivist welfare regime approach have dominated the study of welfare states in the region. This essay, however, shows that a growing body of research challenges the dominant literature. We identify two key driving factors of welfare reform in East Asia, namely democratization and post-industrialization; and discuss how these two drivers have undermined the political and functional underpinnings of the post-war equilibrium of the East Asian welfare/production regime. Its unfolding transformation and the new politics of social policy in the region challenge the notion of “East Asian exceptionalism”, and we suggest that recent welfare reforms call for a better integration of the region into the literature of advanced political economies to allow for cross-fertilization between Eastern and Western literatures.

Suggested Citation

  • Fleckenstein, Timo & Lee, Soohyun Christine, 2017. "Democratization, post-industrialization, and East Asian welfare capitalism: the politics of welfare state reform in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 69574, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:69574
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ito Peng & Joseph Wong, 2008. "Institutions and Institutional Purpose: Continuity and Change in East Asian Social Policy," Politics & Society, , vol. 36(1), pages 61-88, March.
    2. Esping-Andersen, Gosta, 1999. "Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198742005.
    3. Ringen, Stein & Kwon, Huck-ju & Yi, Ilcheong & Kim, Taekyoon & Lee, Jooha, 2011. "The Korean State and Social Policy: How South Korea Lifted Itself from Poverty and Dictatorship to Affluence and Democracy," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199734351.
    4. Ian Holliday, 2000. "Productivist Welfare Capitalism: Social Policy in East Asia," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 48(4), pages 706-723, September.
    5. Fleckenstein, Timo & Lee, Soohyun Christine, 2017. "The politics of labor market reform in coordinated welfare capitalism: comparing Sweden, Germany, and South Korea," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 68210, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Democratization; Post-Industrialization; Welfare Capitalism; Developmentalism; Japan; South Korea; Taiwan.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General

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