Revisiting the welfare state system in the Republic of Korea

Abstract   The Republic of Korea's welfare system has undergone radical institutional expansion since the 1990s, largely as a consequence of the financial crisis of 1997. In spite of these changes, public social expenditure remains extremely low — particularly with regard to all other OECD countries — with the result that the overall social insurance system and social welfare service sector remain underdeveloped. Thus, the current welfare system can best be characterized as a residual model, in that state intervention as a provider of welfare remains highly limited and the family and the private market economy play the central roles in offering a social safety net. This situation is largely the legacy of the so-called 'growth-first' ideology, which has remained the dominant approach favoured by the majority of the country's political and economic decision-makers since the period of authoritarian rule (1961-1993). The adoption of Western European-style neo-liberal restructuring, implemented following the 1997 financial crisis, has also played a role.     

The difficulties of extending social security in Tunisia's agricultural sector

The development of social security in the agricultural sector in Tunisia faces obstacles due to the particular social and economic conditions that apply. The desire of the public authorities to extend social protection to the rural population as a whole runs up against both technical and financial problems. The exact number of people employed in the agricultural sector is not known and it is difficult to define precisely the range of persons to be protected. The changes that have been made in the legal framework in order to adapt social security to the composition and the working conditions of the agricultural population have not achieved their objective. The lack of a coherent system is reflected in particular in the variety of legal provisions and schemes which may be applicable to employees engaged in the same work or working in the same firm. The precarious nature of agricultural employment, the low incomes and thus the low contributory capacity of the workers, the level of benefits offered — in the agricultural schemes sometimes very much below those in the general scheme — all these make social security appear impossible to achieve or not worth while. The resistance encountered by the social security institution may also be due in part to the failure of the Social Security Fund to make people sufficiently aware of the position in the face of some of the traditional structures of solidarity.     

Who is supported? Social security for families with children between family law and social security regulations in Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom

Individual and collective welfare lies at the heart of deliberations about contemporary welfare states. It is not always recognized that social security provisions interact closely with systems for the support of families and for labour market participation. This paper focuses on the interaction of institutional arrangements providing social security for families with children. The analytic framework incorporates family and marital law and social security provisions. Three European welfare states, Belgium Germany and the United Kingdom — with divergent systems of family support — are compared in detail. Among the questions to be posed are: How do these societies organize their support and family-related activities? And what are the rights for individual women, men and children? Among the indicators to be considered are whether the basis for entitlement to social security is individualized or based on a collective unit such as the couple or the household; the extent to which access relates to marriage status or the legitimacy of the children; and the employment-related or universal nature of benefit. The different family models underlying institutions are analysed.     

Trends in Social Security in East Africa: Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda

As elsewhere in the world and in Africa in particular, social security in the member countries of the East African Community (Kenya, United Republic of Tanzania, and Uganda) has long been provided through voluntary assistance under the traditional extended family system. Later, and more specifically after independence in the early 1960s, when the region had a major increase in the number of employees in the formal sector — both public and private — who were mainly located in urban centres, formal social security schemes started to gain recognition among employed workers. Thus over the years, the urban population became increasingly detached from rural communities where the traditional extended family system was most effective. In addition, their general standards of living rose to such levels that if they ceased to earn employment income for one reason or another their livelihood could not be sustained through the extended family system. The above social security development trends have resulted even today in societies examining and determining ways to improve social protection beyond the formal sector so as to ensure arrangements are put in place for a large part of the working population to be provided with social security insurance during their working life and after retirement.     

Equal Parenting when Families Break Apart: Alternating Residence and the Best Interests of the Child in Sweden

Shared, or alternating, residence for children when their parents separate is increasingly common. Sweden adopted a new policy in 1998 (modified in 2006) which gave courts the mandate to order 50/50 alternating residence against the will of one parent. Since then, the 50/50 alternating residence has become the legal norm in Sweden in cases of disputed custody. In this article, we ask how Swedish policymakers reasoned in relation to the potentially conflicting values of equal parenting post‐separation and the interests of children. More specifically, we investigate how they addressed some of the most common objections to court‐ordered alternating residence. We found that all three issues were discussed extensively during the policy‐making process, but that, in the end, none of them was seen as contradictory to the goal of promoting more equal parenting roles post‐separation through the introduction of court‐ordered alternating residence. This policy outcome, we argue, should be seen in light of Sweden's long‐standing commitment to strengthening the role of fathers in the care of children.     

Children's and young people's experiences in various residential arrangements: a longitudinal study to evaluate criteria for custody and residence decision making

Summary The child's welfare or the child's best interest is, in manycountries, the court's paramount consideration for determiningcustody and residence of a child after parental separation ordivorce. This longitudinal study evaluates the custody criterionchild's relationships and residence preferences. Based on aqualitative study design including interviews with childrenand parents, the experiences of 62 children of separated ordivorced parents in various residential arrangements are analysed.The main findings are: (i) a residential arrangement in accordancewith the child's relationships and residence preferences accordswith the child's welfare and represents a positive living situationwith loved people in the family and social environment; (ii)the personal relationships of the child are in no way static,but demonstrate a noticeable dynamic as they change under theinfluence of internal and external factors. Therefore a timelychange of residence, which occurs in accordance with the changedemotion preferences of the child, is beneficial; (iii) a residentialarrangement contrary to the child's relationships and residencepreferences represents for the child involved a difficult situation,which can lead to one of three different processes: adjustment,a trajectory of suffering or initiatives to change the livingsituation. This means that some children adjust, others experiencetrajectory processes of suffering, and those in the remainingcases act as competent social agents, who can autonomously representtheir own interests and pursue them in order to initiate orcontribute to a change of their residence. Findings of the studyare discussed, and suggestions are offered for substantive andprocedural laws to guarantee the child's welfare in custodyand residence settlements and for further research.     

Family policy and the under-3s: Money, services, and time in a policy package

The key components of social policy toward the elderly and disabled, and policies for families and their children, have featured what are by now widely employed income and service components. Now, as demographic and social change have motivated increasing numbers of countries to face the need for societal policies for children under the age of 3, exploration reveals the centrality of an additional policy dimension — time. A six-country study and earlier research targeted on this group finds that several major policy patterns are emerging, with individual country choices reflecting history, culture, religious traditions, political configurations, and resources. Referring to illustrative countries, the paper explicates these options: (a) supporting an at-home parent in "family work"; (b) backing a pattern of involvement of parents in both family and work; (c) offering parents of very young children the option of concentrating on family or work; (d) stressing programmes in support of the socialization and education of young children and their parents. It is suggested that social security institutions internationally contribute to these new developments through data collection, dissemination activities, and encouragement of discussion and research.     

Child Sexual Abuse and the Male Monopoly: An Empirical Exploration of Gender and a Sexual Interest in Children

Correspondence to Mike Freel, Child Protection and Review Unit, Kirklees Children and Families Services, Westfields, Westfields Road, Mirfield, WF14 9PW, UK. E-mail: mike.freel{at}kirkleesmc.gov.uk Summary Researchers argue there is a male monopoly in the perpetrationof child sexual abuse, and that a male sexual interest in childrenis relatively common in society. Government and organizationsworking with children have done little to address possible implicationsof such research. This study explores gender differences inan expressed sexual interest in children, a history of childhoodsexual abuse, and the relationship between these two factors.A self-administer questionnaire was given to a sample of 92female and 91 male public sector child care workers. Resultsshowed a significantly higher percentage of males (15 per cent)than females (4 per cent) expressed a sexual interest in children.Females (20 per cent) were more than twice as likely as males(8 per cent) to report childhood sexual abuse. More than twiceas many men who had been sexually abused as a child (29 percent) expressed a sexual interest in children compared withnon-abused men (14 per cent), but this did not reach statisticalsignificance. In summary, this study found that a sexual interestin children is relatively common among male public sector childcare workers. Prevalence findings for childhood sexual abuseare broadly in line with other research. Experiencing childhoodsexual abuse was not related to a sexual interest in children,but this finding is based on small numbers reporting such aninterest.     

乡城流动与儿童认知发展:基于2012年中国城镇化与劳动移民调查数据的分析

本文利用2012年中国城镇化与劳动移民调查数据,以儿童的认知发展水平为研究对象,以阶层再生产为分析视角,基于认知发展理论探讨农民工流动对子女认知发展的影响。研究发现,流动儿童拥有比留守儿童更高的认知水平,流动儿童相对较好的家庭背景为其认知发展提供了实质性帮助,乡城迁移中流动儿童的认知发展主要通过"转校"等机制得到促进;对于留守儿童来说,其认知劣势与父母外出工作并无显著的统计关系,而主要归因于家庭贫乏的文化资本和经济资本、子女数较多的家庭结构、较低的学前教育接受率或就读学校质量的低下。但是,流动儿童的认知水平整体上仍低于城市儿童,其认知发展仍然受到自身社会阶层条件和境遇的深刻限制,"流动"所带来的各类"认知收益"是有限的。     

Linking Community Initiatives to National Institutions: Ghana

The ILO has developed an innovative concept of global solidarity for social security — the Global Social Trust — which supports the development of national social protection systems through international financing. The concept is ready to be tested nationally and the present paper proposes a pilot project for Ghana. The paper considers the virtues and weaknesses of developing-country social security healthcare systems and community-based voluntary insurance schemes, their lack of informal sector coverage on the one hand and their financial disequilibria on the other. It outlines the socio-economic and macro-policy context of Ghana and the current health policy environment. It argues for a fusion of the social health insurance and mutual health organization concepts in Ghana, thus linking community initiatives to national institutions, enhancing coverage and the quality of services for all. The paper outlines a basic model that could apply to Ghana, its organizational structure, practical functioning, financing arrangements and expected outputs. In particular it seeks to develop a model for the cross-subsidization of insurance premiums for the poor. It describes a concept that would combine local ownership initiatives with national responsibility and financing, arguing for a truly interrelated network of social protection. The authors welcome feedback and comments from the wider social security audience.     

The Experiences of Frontline Staff Working with Children Seeking Asylum

The focus of this paper is welfare professionals’ accounts of their work with children who are seeking asylum. The empirical basis is a commissioned study of children seeking asylum in Wales. As well as qualitative research with children (which is not discussed in this paper), 62 professionals took part in interviews and focus groups. This sample included staff from social services, health, housing, education, police and the voluntary sector. Research findings are presented in relation to the experience of these frontline staff. We attempt to identify some of the sites of tension and the nature of the professional dilemmas, as well as discussing the potential for the exercise of discretion to be exercised. We conclude that there is very little room for manoeuvre within the asylum system for welfare professionals, but that there is evidence of questioning and even minor challenge of current policy from frontline staff. We discuss the extent to which the professional dilemmas raised by the asylum system are of a different order from those experienced throughout social welfare work.     

Provident funds in Asia: Some lessons for pension reformers

As the British were dismantling their empire in the 1950s, they generally left behind a pension legacy consisting of two elements. One was a conventional defined benefit pension scheme for government workers, basically budget–supported. The other was a provident fund for those in the industrial and urban formal sector. Some components of the empire chose to ignore London's advice to create a provident fund — notably Hong Kong, which only recently has created an employer–based system for its workforce. Three features traditionally define state provident funds: central management (with some contracting–out exceptions), a formal structure of individual accounts, and lump sum withdrawals. The term has begun to migrate, however. In Hong Kong, the new mandatory system is called a mandatory provident fund, though it works on a very decentralized basis through employers and requires workers to make their own investment choices. The term is also used in Thailand to describe various schemes that apply to government workers and some private sector firms, along with an evolving pensions system. This paper will concentrate on the four "classic", colonial–era–derived provident funds of Singapore, Malaysia, India and Sri Lanka.     

Scaling the Socioeconomic Ladder: Low-Income Women's Perceptions of Class Status and Opportunity

This study examined how 69 low-income women enrolled in an educational training program perceived social class and upward mobility. Participants identified their social class during childhood, their current status, and their anticipated post graduate status. Beliefs about income inequality and attributions for wealth and poverty were also assessed. Respondents expected to achieve middle class status and perceived higher education as a route to upward mobility, although the accessibility of post-secondary programs was questioned. Consistent with previous research involving low-income groups ( Bullock, 1999 ; Kluegel & Smith, 1986 ), structural attributions for poverty and wealth were favored over individualistic causes. Also, respondents perceived income inequality as unjust. The construction of class identity and implications for class-based mobilization are discussed .

It [the American dream] means the opportunity to go as far in life as your abilities will take you. Anyone in America can aspire to be a doctor, a teacher, a police officer or even, as Oprah said, a President. But you can't get any of those important jobs if you don't have the opportunity to acquire the skills you need … . And that's why I believe that the key to the American Dream is education.
—————Former President George Herbert Walker Bush, 1997

     

Curing The Dutch Disease? Sickness Absence and Work Disability in The Netherlands

The purpose of the current paper is to provide an overview and evaluation, covering the past decade, of developments and experiences in the Netherlands with respect to the prevention and reduction of sickness absence and work disability. The government has made various attempts to restrict expenditure in this area by increasing the (financial) responsibility of employers. It is concluded that the legislative changes do not seem to have long-lasting effects on sickness absence and work disability rates and have not worked out in practice as well as was foreseen. Employers — particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)— often buy minimum service packages from occupational health services (OHSs), show risk-avoiding behaviour, and primarily undertake procedural and person-oriented measures. Some lessons may be learned from the Netherlands' approach, concerning (1) the principle of self-regulation; (2) the position of SMEs; (3) the privatizing of OHSs; (4) examples of good practice.     

Collaboration between Health and Local Authorities: Why is it necessary?

In contrast with current proposals, collaboration with local government was a dominant factor in the 1974 reorganisation of the NHS. Four categories of such collaboration are identified in this paper: the sharing of services; coordination of service delivery; joint planning; and joint prevention. The need for each is discussed in the context of the reorganisation debate and of subsequent events. In essence, the DHSS case for collaboration — and in particular, its emphasis on joint planning — is seen as both a cause of reorganisation and a consequence of the form which that reorganisation eventually took. Emphasis is placed upon the potential role of collaboration as a vehicle for a preventive health strategy and as an important instrument for the development and implementation of major central government policy objectives. Finally prospects for the continuing evolution of joint working are considered in relation to NHS restructuring. It is concluded that the present government's approach to the structure and management of the NHS is likely to undermine its substantive policy objectives especially in the field of community care.     

Rate of return guarantees for mandatory defined contribution plans

Many mandatory defined contribution systems provide a rate of return guarantee. The guarantees provided have generally been backed by a sequential combination of two or more of six different financing sources. Those sources are (1) reserve funds established within the pension fund, using investment earnings on the fund; (2) reserve funds established using funds provided by the owners of the pension fund management companies; (3) a defined benefit plan associated with the defined contribution plan; (4) central guarantee funds financed by contributions from pension funds; (5) funds provided by employers; and (6) the government. Nearly all the guarantees are first backed by a limited liability guarantee derived from investment earnings that would otherwise accrue to workers. In some instances, the guarantee may be funded by employers. Then they are backed by a guarantee financed by capital market institutions — pension fund managers directly or a central guarantee fund. Lastly, they are backed by an unfunded governmental guarantee with unlimited liability that is contingent on the insufficiency of private sector guarantees.     

Mutualism in the world: Ignorance, inequalities and market pressures

Anyone engaged on research who tries to get to know, evaluate and describe the mutual benefit movement in its worldwide context always comes up against the differences in terminology and in constitutions, as well as the disparate nature and unreliability of the financial statements: an international maze in which the observer is completely lost. In spite of the real efforts of the Association internationale de la mutualité (International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies — AIM), the European Community, the International Social Security Association (ISSA), the Institute of International Social Cooperation (ICOSI) and of universities, the history, assessment and evolution — both recent and comparative — of the mutual benefit movement remain largely "terra incognita".     

Private and public pension schemes: Elements of a comparative approach

The comparative approach offers improved understanding of what is at stake for enterprises, workers and States in developing private pension schemes to fill the gap left by public schemes. The features that distinguish private schemes result from the freedom with which they were designed — by enterprises themselves or through collective bargaining — and the limits imposed by growing state intervention in granting fiscal concessions or stipulating social guarantees. Depending on how these various components are combined, private schemes may offers workers added protection or form a source of insecurity.     

The extent and nature of known cases of institutional child sexual abuse

Summary The sexual abuse of children by persons who work with them -institutional abuse - is a focus of major concern among policymakers, practitioners and the public. Despite this, knowledgeabout it remains limited. This paper presents findings froma study of institutional abuse cases referred to social servicedepartments or the police in eight local authority areas. Whilesuch cases were relatively uncommon and constituted a smallproportion of all child protection referrals, some involvedlarge numbers of victims and abusers. Institutional abuse casesin the present study shared some characteristics with the majorityof (intrafamilial) abuse cases, but there were also importantdifferences, such as the proportion of male victims and theextent to which abuses used techniques of targeting and entrapment.Contrary to media representations, the institutional abuse reportedhere was not just a problem of children's homes, social workor the public sector, but occurred in a wide variety of settingsand sectors and was perpetrated by a range of occupational groups.If all children are to be protected, then policy and practicemeasures to prevent abuse need to be directed towards a muchwider range of institutions.     

Critical reflection workshops and knowledge exchange: findings from a Scottish project

In 2013, academics from a Scottish university came together with social work managers and practitioners from two local authorities (LAs) in Scotland to run a knowledge exchange (KE) project co‐sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council and the LAs. The project's aim was an ambitious one: to contribute to culture change in the children and families' departments in the two partner agencies. The project grew out of an earlier KE venture that had explored ways of engaging better with involuntary service users in social work; it thus both anticipated and reflected wider concerns about services for children that were also demonstrated in Munro's Review of Child Protection. The KE project had three components: training for managers, practitioner research projects and critical reflection workshops. Whether, and to what degree, the KE project changed culture is not the focus of this paper, which is written jointly by academic researchers and practitioners. Instead, one element of the KE project, namely the critical reflection workshops, is discussed. Findings provide strong evidence of the pressures currently experienced by children and families' services in the UK public sector. They also indicate how important good relationships are in building meaningful KE.