Social Policies for the Elderly in the Republic of Korea and Japan: A Comparative Perspective*

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Japan are highly industrialized and modern nations which are both influenced by the Confucian tradition of respect for the elderly and family responsibility for the care of aging parents. In both countries the proportion of the elderly population is increasing. Japan, since the end of World War II, has utilized its government bureaucracy to help develop the social welfare system and to formulate social policies and programs for the elderly. Japan's tradition of samurai Confucianism is congruent with the commitment of the Japanese government to such social development as a matter of national policy. The Republic of Korea has not assigned a comprehensive planning role to its government bureaucracy. Lacking the mix of industrial/post-industrial infrastructure of Japan and not yet faced with the immediacy of a very large elderly population, the Republic of Korea's government has developed its social policies for the elderly in a more incremental manner, usually emphasizing small scale and piecemeal initiatives. With respect to social support, it has emphasized voluntary family efforts as congruent with the Korean (and Chinese) variant of Confucianism. This paper will compare and contrast these different approaches.     

Evaluating the risks in acquisition

This paper aims to illustrate the role of strategic risk analysis in the process of policy dialogue. An example of a new product diversification demonstrates the role of risk analysis in clarifying problem assumptions and in understanding the impact of uncertainty on decision-making. Risk analysis is seen as an adjunct and aid to problem formulation and resolution and not an end in itself.     

Territorial invasion and aggression in young children

Forty black first- and second-grade children were given instructions intended to induce possessiveness for both a designated toy and a play area, along with an opportunity to play with the toy in the area. Each subject then surreptitiously observed an experimental confederate dressed in a clown costume play with either the designated toy or another toy, while either within or outside the child's play area. While observing the invasion, the child had 10 opportunities (trials) to deliver shock to the confederate. Girls who observed the confederate playing with the designated toy delivered more shocks and waited fewer trials to deliver the first shock than did the other girls. Similar effects were produced by the confederate's use of the subject's play area. The manipulations produced no significant effects upon the boys' aggression.     

The erosion of the family: A study of the fate of the family in Ghana

Abstract In Ghana, as in other developing countries, it has been held that one cultural element acting towards the maintenance of high fertility has been the awareness that large families do more than small ones to ensure assistance to parents during sickness and especially during old age. The only experience known to the society of the fortunes of those in the latter condition is necessarily that of those who are already old and need such assistance. During 1963-64 a survey of 800 retired persons over 60 years of age was made in Ghana. Respondents of each sex were randomly selected within the urban southern rural and northern rural areas of the country. An examination was made of the effects of mortality and other factors in reducing the amount of possible assistance given by their children below the potential maximum determined by the original level of births. Differentials in fertility by area of present residence were discovered. It was shown that, although the average number of children supporting aged parents is greater in the case of large families, the extent of the assistance is not proportional to original family size, because of differentials in mortality, the chances of survivors reaching adulthood by their parents' old age, and the chances of adult survivors being able or willing to give such assistance. Only families who had between one and four children presented their parents with any considerable risk of receiving no help from their children. It was shown that there are grounds for conflict between the need for maximising assistance by having as many children as possible and by educating as many as possible. It was also shown that there is little evidence that parents consciously make such decisions in order to create an individual 'social welfare' system in that an extension of the state social welfare system would not, according to respondents, do much to change their views about desired family size.     

Strategic Groups and the Analysis of Market Structure and Industry Dynamics1

This paper provides an overview of strategic groups research and argues that it should be linked more closely to questions central to strategic management. Particularly fruitful directions for future research include industry evolution, competitive and industry dynamics, and linkages to resource-based theories. Specific observations and suggestions are made about the content and method of strategic groups research. These are illustrated by reference to empirical studies of the pharmaceutical industry and the food processing industry.