This book critically and comprehensively examines China's welfare development amidst its rapid economic growth and increasing social tensions. It covers the main policy areas from China's inception of the open door policy in 1978 to the new administration of Jinping Xi and Keqiang Li, including social security, health, education, housing, employment, rural areas, migrant workers, children and young people, disabled people, old age pensions and non-governmental organisations. In particular, it critically analyses the impact of policy changes on the well-being of Chinese people

This book critically and comprehensively examines China's welfare development amidst its rapid economic growth and increasing social tensions. It covers the main policy areas from China's inception of the open door policy in 1978 to the new administration of Jinping Xi and Keqiang Li, including social security, health, education, housing, employment, rural areas, migrant workers, children and young people, disabled people, old age pensions and non-governmental organisations. In particular, it critically analyses the impact of policy changes on the well-being of Chinese people

In many Western countries, social welfare payments are increasingly being made conditional on recipients doing voluntary work or attending job training courses, a system known as "welfare-to-work" or "workfare". Although social welfare in Asia is very different to the West, with much smaller social welfare budgets, a strong self-reliance and a much higher dependency on family networks to provide support, the workfare approach is also being adopted in many Asian countries. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of how welfare reform around work is implemented in leading East Asian. Based on the experiences of seven East Asian economies - including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau - this book critically analyses current trends; the social, economic and political factors which lead to the implementation of workfare; compares the similarities and differences of workfare in the different polities and assesses their effectiveness.

In many Western countries, social welfare payments are increasingly being made conditional on recipients doing voluntary work or attending job training courses, a system known as "welfare-to-work" or "workfare." Although social welfare in Asia is very different to the West, with much smaller social welfare budgets, a strong self-reliance and a much higher dependency on family networks to provide support, the workfare approach is also being adopted in many Asian countries. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of how welfare reform around work is implemented in leading East Asian.

Based on the experiences of seven East Asian economies - including China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau - this book critically analyses current trends; the social, economic and political factors which lead to the implementation of workfare; compares the similarities and differences of workfare in the different polities and assesses their effectiveness.

This much-needed new textbook introduces readers to the development of China's welfare polices since its conception of an open-door policy of 1978. Setting out basic concepts and issues, including key terms and the process of policy making, it overcomes a major barrier to understanding Chinese social policy: notably, that concepts and terms in use in China are significantly different from those current in other parts of the world. The book explores in detail the five key policy areas of employment, social security, health, education and housing. Each is examined using a human well-being evaluative framework covering physical and psychological well-being, social integration, fulfilment of caring duties, human learning and development, self-determination, equal value and just polity.This enables the authors to provide not only factual information on policies but also an in-depth understanding of the impact of welfare changes on the quality of life of Chinese people over the past three decades. A major strength of the book lies in its use of primary Chinese-language sources, including relevant white papers, central and local governments' policy documents, academic research studies and newspapers for each policy area. There are very few books in English on social policy in China, and this book will be welcomed not only by academic teaching staff and students of Chinese and East Asian social policy but also by their counterparts in comparative social policy studies in the West.

This much-needed new textbook introduces readers to the development of China's welfare polices since its conception of an open-door policy of 1978. Setting out basic concepts and issues, including key terms and the process of policy making, it overcomes a major barrier to understanding Chinese social policy: notably, that concepts and terms in use in China are significantly different from those current in other parts of the world. The book explores in detail the five key policy areas of employment, social security, health, education and housing. Each is examined using a human well-being evaluative framework covering physical and psychological well-being, social integration, fulfilment of caring duties, human learning and development, self-determination, equal value and just polity.This enables the authors to provide not only factual information on policies but also an in-depth understanding of the impact of welfare changes on the quality of life of Chinese people over the past three decades. A major strength of the book lies in its use of primary Chinese-language sources, including relevant white papers, central and local governments' policy documents, academic research studies and newspapers for each policy area. There are very few books in English on social policy in China, and this book will be welcomed not only by academic teaching staff and students of Chinese and East Asian social policy but also by their counterparts in comparative social policy studies in the West.