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The Evolving Singaporean Welfare State
Author(s) -
Lee Soo Ann,
Qian Jiwei
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1111/spol.12339
Subject(s) - welfare state , politics , social policy , welfare , context (archaeology) , social welfare , economics , east asia , state (computer science) , development economics , economic system , political economy , political science , market economy , china , algorithm , computer science , law , paleontology , biology
East Asian welfare states are regarded as a welfare regime that supports ‘productivism’, in which social policies play a supportive role for economic policies. However, recent dramatic social and economic challenges persist, including ageing and change of labour market structure. Whether welfare states in East Asia can evolve with these changes remains uncertain. The social policies in Singapore, which have been designed to accommodate the political rationale and economic growth strategy in the economic, political and social contexts, are discussed in this article. This research contributes to the literature by interpreting the welfare regime in Singapore from a broad and dynamic political and economic context. Furthermore, this article considers the policy responses in Singapore to the change of the economic and social conditions in evolving welfare states by reviewing recent developments of the country's social policies.