The policy discourse of social investment and the impact on socialising childcare in South Korea and Taiwan

This paper compares the policy discourse development of social
investment in relation to socialising childcare in South Korea and Taiwan. These
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two countries belong to the group of welfare states in East Asia which shares
the common cultural heritage of Confucianism. This religion emphasises the
role of the family and, in particular, women’s role as the main carer within the
family unit. The pressures of providing adequate childcare within the family,
brought about by changes to the form of family over the last two decades, as
well as the demographic trends towards decreased fertility rates among women,
have become significant policy agenda concerns in these two countries.
Responses to the crisis regarding unpaid childcare work have primarily
focussed on the low fertility rates experienced in each country. With respect
to this, policy concerns have been actively discussed under the umbrella term
of socialising childcare, which refers to the sharing of the responsibility for
delivering care between the state, market and the family. Although the policy
direction of socialising childcare has been differently shaped in each country,
the idea of social investment has positively driven forward the issue in the focal
countries. In this context, I compare the different dimensions of the impact of
social investment on socialising childcare in terms of the extent to which it was
present but, at the same time, I explore the policy elements over looked when
the idea was employed. By so doing, I shed light on how childcare provision
can be shared between the state, market and the family in relation to the
delivery of childcare in support of women’s access to labour market
opportunities. Further, I discuss how to facilitate a deep understanding
regarding how care provision can draw in both the public and private sectors
and, as a result, stimulate equal sharing of childcare as well as the potential
economic and social benefits for all stakeholders.