Welfare, Clientelism, and Inequality: Malaysia and Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines

2021

Soc Policy Adm

What drives social policy development? Most of the literature addressing this issue focuses on the economic crisis and the increase in left power as its causation. On the basis of the Indonesian case, this paper engages in a debate about the clouts of clientelism and familial ethics in shaping social policy path development. This article claims that the quick replacement of productivist welfare regimes with the more inclusive system after Asian Financial Crisis is motivated by increased elites' interest in repositioning their clientelistic network within a public institution. This is occurring while familial precepts are being used as effective moral politics in encouraging kinship networks to internalize social risks during the regime replacement process. Overall, the case of Indonesia reflects the common characteristic of welfare regimes development in East Asian countries where efforts to modernize social policy are conditioned under a situation where democracy is not well‐established and the post‐modern family structure has not fully matured either. Consequently, the development of social policy to a large extent is still confined within a huge clientelistic influence and implemented under the familial ideology. This situation has ultimately retarded welfare state development.

Section: Search Strategy Study Identification and Data Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

The complementary roles between clientelism and familism in social policy development

2021

Soc Policy Adm

“…Regardless, there were significant developments in Indonesia's welfare landscape at the turn of the century resulting from the economic crisis of 1998 (Kwon and Kim, 2015;Murphy, 2019;London, 2018). The developments resulted in the first series of welfare state policy developments in Indonesia in the early 2000s, which was institutionalized in 2014 with the introduction of National Health Insurance for all population segments (Aspinall, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, Indonesia has been considered in social policy literature as analogous to informal security, equivalent to other middle-income nations (Gough et al, 2004;Roumpakis, 2020). Several scholars (Murphy, 2019;London, 2018;Sumarto, 2017;Yuda, 2019) have provided a concerted analysis of Indonesian social security in these discussions, concluding Social insecurity and resilience strategies that informal systems have underpinned formal and universal social security systems. Based on the results presented here, the position of Indonesia under meta-analyses of global welfare regimes has not substantially changed since Gough et al (2004) conceptualized them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social insecurity and varieties of family resilience strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic

Munir

2022

IJSSP

PurposeThis study is aimed at developing an understanding of the consequences of the pandemic on families' socioeconomic resilience, and the strategies adopted by the families in overcoming social vulnerabilities amid uncertainty.Design/methodology/approachThe materials for this study consist of semi-structured interviews with 21 families spread across the South Sumatra Province, Indonesia. Families in the study represent four different income levels, namely very high, high, middle and low, and who also work in the informal sector. Each family has at least 1 or more members who fall into the vulnerable category (children, the elderly, people with disabilities unemployed or having potential economic vulnerability).FindingsTwo main findings are outlined. Regardless of their socioeconomic status, many of the families analyzed adopted similar strategies to remain resilient. Among the strategies are classifying the urgency of purchasing consumer goods based on financial capacity rather than needs, leveraging digital economic opportunities as alternative sources of income, utilizing more extensive informal networks and going into debt. Another interesting finding shows that the pandemic, to some extent, has saved poor families from social insecurity. This is supported by evidence showing that social distancing measures during the pandemic have reduced the intensity of sociocultural activities, which require invited community members to contribute financially. The reduction of sociocultural activities in the community has provided more potential savings for the poor.Research limitations/implicationsIn this study, informants who provided information about their family conditions represent a major segment of the workforce and tend to be technologically savvy and younger, due to the use of Zoom as a platform for conducting interviews. Therefore, there may be a bias in the results. Another limitation is that since the interviewees were recommended by our social network in the fields, there is a risk of a distorted selection of participants.Originality/valueThis study offers insights that are critical in helping to analyze family patterns in developing countries in mitigating the risks and uncertainties caused by COVID-19. In addition, the literature on social policy and development could benefit from further research on COVID-19 as an alternative driver to identify mechanisms that could bring about change that would result in “security.” Critical questions and limitations of this study are presented at the end of the paper to be responded to as future research agenda.

“…Following the 1997–1998 Asian Financial crisis, governments in East Asia enacted significant changes in their welfare systems (Abrahamson, 2017; Yang & Kühner, 2020) as issues of social protection, education, health, housing, population aging, and child well‐being took center stage in the local public policy discourses (Kim & Shi, 2020). A push toward social development has also been identified in South and Southeast Asia, but the overall trajectory of social policy implementation tended to be patchier and trending in multiple directions (Koehler et al, 2021; London, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing Indonesia into the global welfare regime debate: A literature review and future research agenda

Asian Soc Wrk & Pol Rev

Kühner²

2022

Since the publication of Esping-Andersen's (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism, it has dominated comparative social policy debates and proved invaluable advances in developing a comprehensive framework for welfare state modeling. Despite some widely discussed limitations of Esping-Andersen's approach (Kühner, 2007;Scruggs & Allan, 2006), the welfare modeling business has been characterized by ongoing dynamism.With the expansion of welfare structures in many developing countries, additional welfare ideal types have been developed for interpreting underlying institutional structures and changes worldwide. The discussion of welfare regimes in Asia has gained increased attention (Aspalter, 2006;