Social Policy in East Asia

East Asia is a dynamic and diverse region which contains countries in different sizes, political structures, levels of socio-economic as well as social policy developments. The strong regulatory role of the state, which once characterised as the distinctiveness of East Asian welfare approaches, is now shifting towards more market-oriented approaches. Differentiated trajectories of social policy developments and reforms have been observed across East Asian societies since the recent Financial Crises. Rapid demographic transitions such as population ageing and changing family structures require the re-examination of existing welfare systems in East Asia. There are growing social divisions and inequalities in different sections of East Asian societies as a result of contemporary socio-economic and demographic changes.