Welfare State Theory, Social Security Systems, and Old-Age Redistribution in East Asia
Welfare state theory provides an important analytical framework for understanding the institutionalized distribution of social risks and the mechanisms through which social inequalities are produced and regulated. Influential studies, most notably Esping-Anderson (1990), have conceptualized welfare states in advanced capitalist societies along the dimensions of de-commodification and social stratification, thereby highlighting cross-national differences in the provision of social rights and the regulation of inequality. However, this macro-level theoretical framework can only be translated into empirical reality through concrete social security arrangements, such as pension systems, health insurance, and family policies.
In this sense, social security institutions function not only as the institutional embodiment of welfare state regimes but also as key mechanisms through which individuals cope with income, health, and care-related risks in old age. Existing theories and empirical studies on population aging have been developed largely based on European and other Western welfare states, often implicitly assuming relatively high levels of de-commodification and mature social protection systems. By contrast, East Asian societies exhibit distinct institutional configurations in terms of the development trajectories, coverage patterns, and the roles assigned to the state, the market, and the family in welfare provision. Therefore, before applying aging theories derived from Western welfare states to the East Asian context, it is necessary to first clarify the institutional specificities of East Asian social security systems, in older to assess the applicability and limitations of these theories in explaining aging processes and inequality outcomes in East Asia.
Building on this theoretical concern, two interrelated research challenges merit particular attention. First, there is a need to systematically conceptualize institutional differences in social security systems in ways that can be directly linked to old-age outcome. Rather than relying solely on broad regime typologies, future research should identify analytically meaningful institutional indicators that allow for the formulation of testable hypotheses (Yi, 2017). In the domain of health, for example, variations in health insurance coverage and institutional fragmentation may shape access to care, health trajectories, and the accumulation of disadvantage in later life (Beckfield and Krieger, 2009). Second, stronger empirical evidence from cross-national comparative research is required to access whether and to what extent East Asia societies constitute a distinct pattern of welfare provision in old age. Together, these two research directions are crucial for clarifying the mechanisms through which social security systems shape old-age inequality and for establishing a more theoretically grounded understanding of aging in East Asia.
References
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism: Princeton University Press.
Yi, I. (2017). Towards universal health care in emerging economies : opportunities and challenges: Palgrave Macmillan,United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.
Beckfield, J., and Krieger, N. (2009). Epi + demos + cracy: linking political systems and priorities to the magnitude of health inequities--evidence, gaps, and a research agenda. Epidemiol Rev, 31, 152-177.
