How the Productivist Welfare System Frames the Risks of Ageing During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 presents a systemic social risk for the East Asian welfare system. This chapter focuses on global shocks and its policy responses targeted at older residents, which are East Asia's most pressing social policy issues before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review reveals that Taiwan and South Korea seem to combine the developmental-universalist and social democratic welfare state models, whereas Hong Kong and Singapore have followed a typical mix of development-universalist and facilitative approaches. Overall, they have successfully transitioned from an economic-driven preference to a more balanced protective-productive feature, but they have done so through multiple pathways, with the market-conforming role of social policy for the elderly remaining dominant. This study responds to the current debate on policy continuity and adaptation in East Asia and suggests a new perspective.