A Research Agenda for East Asian Social Policy

Book excerpt: Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Since the turn of the millennium, significant social, economic, political and technological transformations have brought policy issues to prominence in East Asian societies. This topical Research Agenda finds East Asian social policy at a critical juncture. It analyses the driving forces that are shifting contemporary research and diverse policy responses in the region. Providing a comprehensive overview of the critical socio-economic changes and events over the last two decades, the volume identifies both converging and diverging social policy developments and reforms across East Asian societies. Chapters explore the influences of globalisation, post-industrialisation, labour market transformations, demographic changes, and cultural shifts on social policy in East Asia. Taking regional, international and comparative approaches to social policy analysis, the volume also questions the sustainability, vulnerability and equity of current East Asian social policy and welfare systems. Contributing new empirical knowledge to the theorisation of social policy and practice in East Asia in the post-crisis landscape, this volume will be invaluable to students and scholars of social policy, sociology, and politics. Highlighting areas for urgent policy initiatives, it will also prove vital to policymakers and practitioners in the field.