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

Conference paper


Lee, S. 2019. The policy discourse of social investment and the impact on socialising childcare in South Korea and Taiwan. 16th EASP Conference. Taiwan 02 - 03 Jul 2019 East Asian Social Policy.
AuthorsLee, S.
TypeConference paper
Abstract

This paper compares the policy discourse development of social
investment in relation to socialising childcare in South Korea and Taiwan. These
62
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.

KeywordsChildcare; Taiwan; Korea; Confucianism
Year2019
Conference16th EASP Conference
JournalEAST ASIAN WELFARE FUTURES: BETWEEN PRODUCTIVISM AND SOCIAL INVESTMENT
PublisherEast Asian Social Policy
Web address (URL)http://welfareasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/16th-EASP-Conference-Book.pdf
Web address (URL) of conference proceedingshttp://welfareasia.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/16th-EASP-Conference-Book.pdf
Output statusPublished
Publication dates02 Jul 2019
Publication process dates
Deposited12 Jun 2023
Permalink -

https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/9z338/the-policy-discourse-of-social-investment-and-the-impact-on-socialising-childcare-in-south-korea-and-taiwan

  • 25
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 0
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

What determines social service workers’ wages: A cross-country analysis using a Luxembourg Income Study
Lee, S. and Yun-Young, K. 2023. What determines social service workers’ wages: A cross-country analysis using a Luxembourg Income Study. Social Policy and Society. pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474746423000350
Why are childcare costs expensive in the UK?
Lee, S. 2022. Why are childcare costs expensive in the UK? International Social Security Review . (23), pp. 53-62. https://doi.org/10.23063/2022.12.5
Ideas, Coalition Magnets and Policy Change: Comparing variation in early childhood education and care policy expansion across four latecomer countries
Lee, S. and Himmelweit, S. M. 2022. Ideas, Coalition Magnets and Policy Change: Comparing variation in early childhood education and care policy expansion across four latecomer countries. Government and Opposition. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2022.35
Towards optimising children's capability and tackling relative child poverty in high-income countries: the cases of Japan, Sweden and the UK since 2000
Lee, S., Takeuchi, H. and Ivarsson, A. 2022. Towards optimising children's capability and tackling relative child poverty in high-income countries: the cases of Japan, Sweden and the UK since 2000. Global Health Action. 15 (1), pp. 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2022.2084230
Work-family policy expansion and the Idea of social investment: the cases of Germany, England, Japan and South Korea
Lee, S. 2021. Work-family policy expansion and the Idea of social investment: the cases of Germany, England, Japan and South Korea. in: Policy Press.
Why the initiative of free childcare failed to be an effective policy implementation of universal childcare in South Korea
Lee, Sung-Hee 2021. Why the initiative of free childcare failed to be an effective policy implementation of universal childcare in South Korea. Journal of Asian Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1080/17516234.2021.1955644
Social policy discourses around caring society in Europe
Lee, Sung-Hee 2018. Social policy discourses around caring society in Europe. Korean Women's Development Institute.
A comparative study on social service sector workers' working conditions
Lee, Sung-Hee 2020. A comparative study on social service sector workers' working conditions. Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
Beyond the Policy Rhetoric: The Limitations of Gender Mainstreaming in South Korea Relating to Women and Childcare
Lee, S. 2019. Beyond the Policy Rhetoric: The Limitations of Gender Mainstreaming in South Korea Relating to Women and Childcare. Social Policy and Society. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1474746419000484
Not too much and not too little: a comparison of free childcare between the UK and South Korea
Lee, S. 2019. Not too much and not too little: a comparison of free childcare between the UK and South Korea. UK Social Policy Association Annual conference 2019. Durham Univeristy 08 - 10 Jul 2019 University of Durham .
Social Care Service Provision in UK
Lee, Sung-Hee 2016. Social Care Service Provision in UK. Chung-Ang University Collaboration Institute.
Family allowances in the UK
Lee, S. 2017. Family allowances in the UK. in: Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.
The socio and political conundrum around the policy initiative of free childcare in South Korea
Lee, S. 2018. The socio and political conundrum around the policy initiative of free childcare in South Korea. 15th EASP conference. Bristol, UK 05 - 06 Jul 2018 East Asian Social Policy.
ECEC Discourses in England, Germany, Japan and Korea: Framing the Departure from the Male-Breadwinner Ideology
Lee, S. 2018. ECEC Discourses in England, Germany, Japan and Korea: Framing the Departure from the Male-Breadwinner Ideology. XIX ISA World Conference of Sociology. Toronto, Canada 15 - 21 Jul 2018 XIX ISA World Conference of Sociology.
The socialisation of childcare and a missed opportunity through gender politics: the case of South Korea
Lee, S. 2017. The socialisation of childcare and a missed opportunity through gender politics: the case of South Korea. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxx001
Gender mainstreaming in South Korea – a critical analysis through discursive institutionalism around the issue of childcare
Lee, S. 2016. Gender mainstreaming in South Korea – a critical analysis through discursive institutionalism around the issue of childcare. LHSS, University of Derby.
Has Childcare Become Less of a Burden in South Korea? Exploring the nature of pre and post reform childcare provision
Lee, S. 2016. Has Childcare Become Less of a Burden in South Korea? Exploring the nature of pre and post reform childcare provision. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1080/12259276.2016.1242941