Yeung, D.C.F. orcid.org/0000-0002-8953-1929, Li, Y.W.V. orcid.org/0000-0002-8771-537X, Ho, K.K.L. orcid.org/0000-0002-0653-2089 et al. (1 more author) (2025) The developmental social policy standstill: cash payout schemes amid the Covid‐19 pandemic in four East Asian economies. Asian Politics & Policy, 17 (4). e70040. ISSN: 1943-0779
Abstract
In response to the Covid‐19 pandemic, the governments of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea implemented direct cash disbursements to citizens in 2020 and 2021. This paper assesses whether these near‐simultaneous universal cash payout schemes presage a broader transformation in the welfare paradigm of these East Asian economies, traditionally viewed as minimal‐welfare developmental states. Our analysis finds that economic stimulus, rather than social protection, was the primary objective in all four cases, even amid the public health crisis. This reflects a strong continuity with the policy responses adopted following the 2007/8 Global Financial Crisis. The underlying “productivist” welfare regimes remained largely unchanged and firmly rooted in the developmentalist, pro‐growth paradigm that has shaped these economies for decades. Accordingly, the adoption of universal cash payouts is best understood as a pragmatic policy adjustment to evolving political‐economic conditions, rather than evidence of a paradigmatic shift in welfare governance.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | cash payout; Covid-19; developmental welfare model; East Asia; social policy; Asia Oriental; COVID-19 |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | ?? Sheffield.LAS ?? The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) |
Date Deposited: | 15 Oct 2025 13:59 |
Last Modified: | 15 Oct 2025 13:59 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/aspp.70040 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/aspp.70040 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:232877 |