ABSTRACT
East Asian economies have long benefited from state-led developmental strategies, but that approach is now under critical scrutiny. The core assumption of this strategy is that the state has the capacity to maintain and pursue an effective economic production and political reproduction strategy within its territory. This capacity, however, has been eroded by two important, but contradictory, changes. The first is the development of globalization with an increasingly competitive world order, putting constraints on the pursuit of goals other than performance competitiveness. The second is the process of democratization in East Asia that leads to pressures for more provision of public services for the population as a whole. To respond to these two changes, East Asian countries stepped forward with diversified responses that involve varied welfare policy instruments. For example, Korea and Taiwan have developed their social insurance programs while Singapore and Hong Kong have been on the provident fund road.
