The welfare state in Korea : the politics of legitimation / Huck-ju Kwon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kwon, Huck-ju.

Series:

St. Antony's series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Legitimacy of governments.

Korea (South)--Social policy.

Korea (South).

Social policy.

Legitimacy of governments--Korea (South).

Korea (South)--Politics and government--1960-1988.

Politics and government.

Korea (South)--Politics and government--1988-.

Physical Description:

xi, 194 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : St. Martin's Press in association with St. Antony's College, Oxford, 1999.

Summary:

Through the analysis of institutional dynamics, Huck-Ju Kwon argues that social policy development in Korea is not due to common exogenous factors such as international or union pressure but to the desire of the weakly-legitimated government to have itself legitimized. Such political rationale is deeply embedded in the structure of social policy institutions and particularly in the way that the state has played a part in financing social welfare programs. This book shows that the role of the Korean state is characterized as essentially that of regulator-type rather than provider.

Contents:

1 Social Policy in a Confined Institutional Terrain 7

1.1 Similarities and differences 7

1.2 Does politics matter? 10

1.3 The case of Korea: an institutional approach 14

1.4 The politics of legitimation and democratisation 19

1.5 The role of the state and outcomes of social policy 15

2 Social Policy Making 27

2.1 The nature of the state and social classes 31

2.2 The politics of legitimation and social policy 37

2.3 The role of experts 50

2.4 Towards democratic policy making? 60

3 The Structure of Social Policy 69

3.1 Three types of intervention 69

3.2 The role of the state in the economy 72

3.3 Industrial Accident Insurance 79

3.4 The Public Assistance Programme 84

3.5 National Health Insurance 88

3.6 The National Pension Programme 95

3.7 Continuity and changes 99

4 The Outcomes of Social Policy: An Appraisal from Two Perspectives 103

4.1 Redistribution 104

4.2 The social rights approach 122

4.3 Still in the beginning? 128

5.1 The institutional logic of social policy 131

5.2 The structure of social policy 135

5.3 The outcomes of social policy 136

5.4 The politics of legitimation 138

5.5 Is it a conservative welfare regime? 140

Appendix A Chronology 1960 to 1992 143

Appendix B Coverage of Social Welfare Programmes 146

Appendix C The Composition of Taxes 147

Appendix D The Simulated Contributions and Pensions of Two Individuals 148.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0312213220

OCLC:

38096877