The Evolving Singaporean Welfare State

Abstract

East Asian welfare states are regarded as a welfare regime that supports ‘productivism’, in which social policies play a supportive role for economic policies. However, recent dramatic social and economic challenges persist, including ageing and change of labour market structure. Whether welfare states in East Asia can evolve with these changes remains uncertain. The social policies in Singapore, which have been designed to accommodate the political rationale and economic growth strategy in the economic, political and social contexts, are discussed in this article. This research contributes to the literature by interpreting the welfare regime in Singapore from a broad and dynamic political and economic context. Furthermore, this article considers the policy responses in Singapore to the change of the economic and social conditions in evolving welfare states by reviewing recent developments of the country's social policies.