Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe 9781447357728

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Series editors: Heejung Chung, University of Kent, UK, Alexandra Kaasch, University of Bielefeld, Germany, and Stefan Kühner, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

“This informative study provides an original reflection on gender, welfare regimes and productivism from comparative perspectives. It offers a rigorous theoretical analysis, critical evaluation of policies and a compelling empirical account of women’s experiences of life-mix challenges. Fascinating work.” Sirin Sung, Queen’s University Belfast Developing the new framework of ‘life-mix’, which considers the mixed patterns of caring and working in different periods of life, this book systematically explores the interplay of productivism, women, care and work in East Asia and Europe. The book ranges across four key aspects of welfare – childcare, parental leave, employment support and pensions – to illustrate how policies affect women in various periods of their lives. Policy case studies from France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, South Korea, Sweden and the UK show how welfare could support people’s caring and working lives. This book forms a prescient examination of how productivist thinking underpins regimes and impacts women’s welfare, care and work in both the East and West. Ruby C. M. Chau is Associate Professor in Public and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham. Sam W. K. Yu is an independent researcher.

ISBN 978-1-4473-5771-1

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WOMEN, WELFARE AND PRODUCTIVISM IN EAST ASIA AND EUROPE Ruby C. M. Chau and Sam W. K. Yu

In a world that is rapidly changing, increasingly connected and uncertain, there is a need to develop a shared applied policy analysis of welfare regimes. Through a unique combination of comparative and global social perspectives, books in this series will address broad questions around how nation states and transnational policy actors deal with globally shared challenges.

RUBY C.M. CHAU S A M W. K . Y U

WOMEN, WELFARE AND PRODUCTIVISM IN EAST ASIA AND EUROPE R E S E AR C H I N C O M PAR AT I V E & G L O BA L S O C I A L P O L I C Y

Research in Comparative   and Global Social Policy  

Series Editors: Heejung Chung, University of Kent, UK, Alexandra Kaasch, University of Bielefeld, Germany, and Stefan Kühner, Lingnan University, Hong Kong

Through a unique combination of comparative and global social perspectives, these books question how nation states and transnational policy actors deal with globally shared challenges.

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Coming soon Welfare Attitudes in East Asia The Case of Beijing and Singapore By Trude Sundberg

Editorial advisory board Ana Marta Guillen Rodriguez, University of Oviedo, Spain Bingqin Li, University of New South Wales, UK Gaby Ramia, University of Sydney, Australia Ilcheong Yi, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Switzerland Jolanta Aidukaite, Vilnius University, Lithuania Keerty Nakray, O.P. Jindal University, India Marianne Ulriksen, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, Switzerland Markus Ketola, University of Ulster, Northern Ireland Rianne Mahon, Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada Ricardo Velazquez-Leyer, University of Bath, UK Sophia Lee, Ewha Women’s University, South Korea Trudie Knijn, Utrecht University, Netherlands Young Jun Choi, Yonsei University, South Korea

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WOMEN, WELFARE AND PRODUCTIVISM IN EAST ASIA AND EUROPE Ruby C. M. Chau and Sam W. K. Yu

First published in Great Britain in 2022 by Policy Press, an imprint of Bristol University Press University of Bristol 1–​9 Old Park Hill Bristol BS2 8BB UK t: +​44 (0)117 374 6645 e: bup-​[email protected] Details of international sales and distribution partners are available at policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk © Bristol University Press 2022 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-​1-​4473-​5771-​1 hardcover ISBN 978-​1-​4473-​5773-​5 ePub ISBN 978-​1-​4473-​5772-​8 ePdf The right of Ruby C. M. Chau and Sam W. K. Yu to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved: no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Bristol University Press. Every reasonable effort has been made to obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material. If, however, anyone knows of an oversight, please contact the publisher. The statements and opinions contained within this publication are solely those of the authors and not of the University of Bristol or Bristol University Press. The University of Bristol and Bristol University Press disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any material published in this publication. Bristol University Press and Policy Press work to counter discrimination on grounds of gender, race, disability, age and sexuality. Cover design: Andrew Corbett Bristol University Press and Policy Press use environmentally responsible print partners. Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

To Mrs Lai Wah Chow-​Chu, Mrs Yuk Wah Yu-​Tse, Mrs Audrey Sainsbury and billions of women who devote themselves to both a caring and a working life to raise their families

Contents List of figure and tables List of abbreviations About the authors Preface Series editors’ preface

viii x xi xii xiv

1 Introduction

1

2

The theoretical foundation of the life-​mix framework

23

3

East Asian welfare regimes

46

4

Policy case studies: childcare leave measures and ECEC

69

5

Policy case study: pension measures

96

6

Policy case study: active labour market policies and alternatives

114

7

Women’s life-​mixes: insights from two qualitative studies in Hong Kong

134

8

Creating favourable conditions for diverse life-​mix preferences

151

9

New dimensions to contemporary welfare ideas

169

10 Conclusion

190

Notes References Index

204 207 233

vii

List of figure and tables Figure 1.1

The life-​mix framework

2

Tables 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 3.11 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.1 5.2 5.3

Life-​mix tactics 5 Policy strategies on productivism 6 Characteristics of the five work and care models 10 Focuses and areas of oversight of the four models 31 Analytical tasks corresponding to the six welfare views 44 Relative labour force participation rate –​2019 (aged 15–​64) 49 Gender wage gap –​2018 50 Fertility rate (births per woman) –​2019 51 Life expectancy rate –​2016 56 Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) –​2017 57 Maternal mortality ratio –​2015 58 Number of hospital beds and physicians –​2010–​18 59 Education development –​ 2010–​18 60 Maternity leave –​2019–​20 63 Paternity leave –​2019 64 Parental leave –​2019 65 Policy strategies on productivism (in the domains of childcare 73 leave and ECEC) Maternity leave measures in the seven countries/​territories –​ 78 various years Paid paternity leave measures in the seven countries/​territories –​ 79 various years Paid parental leave measures in the seven countries/​territories –​ 80 various years Total expenditure (as a percentage of GDP) on ECEC –​2015 82 Total public expenditure on ECEC per child aged 0–​5 –​2015 82 Enrolment rate in ECEC –​2015 83 Enrolment rate in ECEC and primary education –​2017 83 Out-​of-​pocket childcare costs for a two–​earner couple family 84 as a percentage of average earning –​various years Policy strategies on productivism (in the domain of pension 98 benefits) Benefit calculation methods for public pensions –​various years 100 Eligibility criteria for a minimum pension/​alternative –​various 103 years viii

List of figure and tables

5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 7.1 7.2 7.3 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 10.1

Pension age reforms –​various years Early retirement policy measures –​various years Late retirement policy measures –​various years Arrangements of pension contributions for childcare support –​ various years Labour force participation rate in different age groups –​2019 Labour force participation rate –​Hong Kong –​2019 Policy strategies on productivism (in the domain of ALMPs) Public expenditure on labour market policies –​2018 Index on strictness of employment protection –​individual and collective dismissals –​regular contracts –​2017–​19 Index on strictness of employment protection –​temporary contracts –​ 2017–​19 Real minimum wages (hourly) –​2017–​19 Minimum wages/​average wages (full-​time workers) –​ 2017–​19 Benefits in unemployment (share of previous income) –​2020 or latest available Long-​term unemployment rate –​2017–​19 Suggestions on improving ALMP measures and alternatives Personal particulars of the respondents in the first study Personal particulars of the respondents in the second study Policy suggestions Welfare ideas and welfare goals Defamilisation and familisation measures Ten types of family Intergenerational relationships Three approaches to social exclusion Pro-​work social quality strategy Pro-​care social quality strategy Examples of pro-​working life and pro-​caring life actions Pro-​work interpretations of welfare ideas and government policy strategy Different understandings of inclusive growth and government policy strategies Alternative coalition (actions for promoting the interests of informal care receivers) Impacts of the COVID-​19 pandemic on life-​mix preferences

ix

103 104 105 106 107 107 117 119 120 121 122 122 123 123 131 136 144 149 170 173 174 179 181 183 184 185 187 187 189 202

List of abbreviations 2030 Agenda ALMPs COVID-​19 pandemic CSSA EC ECEC EU Europe 2020 GBP GDP GYED GYES HUF ILO KRW MPF MUD OAA OECD RED SAR SEK SID SDGs UK UN UNDP UN Women WB WHO

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development active labour market policies Coronavirus disease 2019 Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme European Commission early childhood education and care European Union A European Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth British Pound Sterling Gross Domestic Product Gyermekgondozási díj Gyermekgondozási segély Hungarian Forint International Labour Organization South Korean Won Mandatory Provident Fund moral underclass discourse Old Age Allowance Organisation for Economic Co-​operation and Development Redistributive discourse Special Administrative Region Swedish Krona socially integrated discourse Sustainable development goals United Kingdom United Nations United Nations Development Programme United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women World Bank World Health Organization

x

About the authors Ruby C. M. Chau is Associate Professor in Public and Social Policy in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham. She has conducted research and taught in more than ten East Asian and European countries. Her main research interests are culturally sensitive health and social care, disabilities, social exclusion, welfare mix, women and welfare. Further information (including a list of published works) can be found from: www.nott​ ingh ​ am.ac.uk/s​ ociolo ​ gy/p​ eop​ le/r​ uby.chau. ORCID ID 0000-​0003-​3118-​4669. Sam W. K. Yu was Associate Professor in the Department of Social Work at the Hong Kong Baptist University until January 2022. He is now an independent researcher. His main research interests are comparative social policy, East Asian welfare regimes, familisation and defamilisation indexes, and welfare typologies. He has an international publication portfolio of over 60 articles in prestigious journals and 40 book chapters in Chinese and English. ORCID ID 0000-​0001-​7732-​0671.

xi

Preface For a long time, we have wished to write a book on social welfare systems in East Asia and the West. Growing up in Hong Kong with parents born in mainland China, we have our roots in Chinese culture. Receiving Westernised education in Hong Kong and later higher education in the UK has provided us with a different perspective. Between us, we have been teaching, researching and working in nine East Asian and European countries/​territories. These experiences have made us more and more curious about how different welfare systems work and how they are affecting people’s lives. In the past 20 years, we have been conducting comparative welfare research in different forms. We started with case studies of welfare policies in countries/​territories such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the UK.1 This was followed by enquiries into the ethnocentric nature of social welfare studies, from which we discovered not only the differences but also similarities between Western and non-​Western welfare systems. Inspired by such findings, we conducted a series of systematic comparisons of Organisation for Economic Co-​operation and Development (OECD), European Union (EU) and East Asian countries/​territories with the aid of various defamilisation indexes and statistical tools. The results confirm that the conventional categorisations of Western and non-​Western welfare systems are not as clear-​cut as generally assumed. In the past few years, we have each received research grants from different sources to continue with the work on comparative welfare and defamilisation. These include Chau’s Marie Curie research fellowship investing social investment in work–​family reconciliation policies in East Asian and EU countries/​territories (SIPEA: grant no. 7083052), and Yu’s grants from the Hong Kong Baptist University.3 Findings from these projects further enrich our understanding of the concept of defamilisation and its value in analysing the complex relationships between the state and the family, women and welfare, work and care, and individual preferences and structural limitations. We both feel that this is the time to produce a substantial volume to present our ideas with the support of empirical evidence collected through our previous and ongoing research. We are thankful to the series editors for their encouragement to develop this book project. We are grateful to Policy Press for offering the opportunity for publication. We are indebted to the anonymous reviewers of the proposal and the draft typescript for their critical but constructive comments. Our gratitude also goes to Professor Ito Peng who inspired the initial thoughts of this book and Professor Karen Rowlingson who provided very useful feedback on our earlier draft of the theoretical chapter. xii

Preface

Many teachers and friends have held our hands at different stages of our academic and personal lives, and we are grateful to each of them. We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a few in particular: Professor Sammy Chiu who introduced us to the subject of social policy and has never stopped inspiring us; Professor Alan Walker and Mr David Phillips, our PhD supervisors and lifelong mentors who provide unfailing support; the late Professor Eric Sainsbury who set us an exemplar of humanity and kindness, the core of our beliefs in social policy; Professor Kathy Boxall and Dr Liam Foster, our former co-​authors and supportive friends; Ms Elizabeth Birks, a faithful friend and a patient English editor of our work over many years; and last but not least, Dr Ira Lightman who carefully proofread the final draft of this book with great patience. While being grateful for all the advice from friends, colleagues and reviewers, we alone are responsible for any inadequacies in this book. We will receive any criticism and suggestions for improvement humbly. Ruby Chau and Sam Yu January 2022

xiii

Series editors’ preface Heejung Chung (University of Kent, UK) Alexandra Kaasch (University of Bielefeld, Germany) Stefan Kühner (Lingnan University, Hong Kong) In a world that is rapidly changing, increasingly connected and uncertain, there is a need to develop a shared applied policy analysis of welfare regimes around the globe. Research in Comparative and Global Social Policy is a series of books that addresses broad questions around how nation states and transnational policy actors manage globally shared challenges. In so doing, the book series includes a wide array of contributions, which discuss comparative social policy history, development and reform within a broad international context. The book series invites innovative research by leading experts on all world regions and global social policy actors and aims to fulfil the following objectives: it encourages cross-disciplinary approaches that develop theoretical frameworks reaching across individual world regions and global actors; it seeks to provide evidence-based good practice examples that cross the bridge between academic research and practice; not least, it aims to provide a platform in which a wide range of innovative methodological approaches – whether it be national case studies, larger-N comparative studies or global social policy studies – can be introduced to aid the evaluation, design and implementation of future social policies. We are delighted to include this book by Ruby Chau and Sam Yu in our book series. This book significantly contributes to the theoretical aspects of welfare state analysis and provides a unique insight into different care and employment regimes. The book offers a new theoretical framework for better understanding the organisation of work and care of men and women across the life course, namely the ‘life-mix’ framework. This framework aims to integrate the variety of needs and preferences of individuals across different phases of one’s life to examine the role of policies in enabling the diverse demands. The authors also promote the welfare principle of ‘protected autonomy in life-mix’ through this framework. This autonomy, similar to the ideas put forward by capabilities scholars, is based on a firm belief that people’s freedom of choice in work and care should be protected. More specifically, workers should be given the autonomy to choose to take part in the work economy as a worker or to perform the role of the primary care provider in the family. Importantly, these choices should not be undermined by the threat of losing the guarantee of a reasonable standard of living. Such ideas present a welcome voice in this era where workers are losing this right to choose or, even worse, become unable to sustain a viable standard of living xiv

newgenprepdf

Series editors’ preface

despite forgoing their preference for a better work-life balance due to low wages and insufficient levels of state support. The other essential contribution this book makes is to provide rigorous empirical analysis across a wide range of countries/territories that are generally not explored very often and not in combination – namely France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, South Korea, Sweden and the UK. By investigating these cases, the authors challenge the conventional assumption around welfare productivism as a uniquely East Asian social policy tool. Instead, the authors show that the ideas of productivism – namely the privileging of economic growth over social rights and pro-work stances when providing welfare – are found across all of these societies. Through this, they argue for the need for a pro-care dimension to rectify the imbalance in our contemporary welfare ideas and international welfare agendas. Overall, by providing a rich collection of empirical evidence framed by unique theoretical perspectives, Ruby Chau and Sam Yu’s contribution offers academics and policymakers better tools for understanding contemporary work and care policies. Furthermore, we hope that it will fill a vital gap in providing policy evidence for global challenges from a cross-regional perspective that can benefit stakeholders worldwide.

xv

1

Introduction Background Coupled with a growing interest in the productive element of social welfare, there has been increasing support for the view that welfare systems should be reformed to respond to the rising influence of productivism (Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021); this can be understood as a belief that taking part in production activities in the economy constitutes an important part of adult life (Van der Veen and Groot, 2006). While there is a lack of consensus on the scope of these welfare reforms, most of the reform suggestions focus on developing or redeveloping welfare policy measures (such as childcare provisions, paid parental leave and active labour market policy measures) to enrich human resources, encourage participation in formal employment, adjust the division of care responsibilities in the family and promote economic growth (Jessop, 1999; Evans and Cerny, 2003; Gough, 2004; Hudson et al, 2014; Dearing, 2016; Hemerijck, 2018; Kvist, 2018; Koslowski et al, 2019). These welfare reforms are found not only in East Asian welfare regimes (Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan), which are commonly seen as the hubs of the productivist welfare model, but also in welfare regimes in Europe (Holliday, 2000; Bonoli and Shinkawa, 2005; Kim, 2008; Yu, 2012; 2014; European Commission [EC], 2014; 2019; Lin and Chan, 2015; ILO, 2018; Wen, Mok and Amoah, 2021; Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021). These welfare reforms are met with both acclaim and apprehension. On the one hand, they are associated with the wish to give women more choices about how to organise their lives and to give children a strong start in their early years (Lewis, 2001; Annesley, 2007; Bambra, 2007; Kroger, 2011; OECD, 2012; 2015; Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021). On the other hand, there are worries that these reforms, especially those over-​stressing the importance of encouraging women to take part in formal employment, have adverse effects on individual women and society. These effects include (but are not limited to) giving unpaid care inadequate recognition, creating exclusive growth and laying stress on the supremacy of commodity relationships over other social relationships (Saraceno, 2015; Oxfam, 2017; Cook, 2018; Elson and Seth, 2019; Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021).

1

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

Our book is set up against this backdrop. With the stress on the link between the studies of productivism and the studies of how women organise their lives around paid work and care responsibilities, we present a new analytical tool, termed the ‘life-​mix framework’ and apply it to investigate four major issues concerning the approaches to productivism adopted by East Asian and non-​East Asian governments: • the ways governments use welfare measures to promote productivism; • whether these measures align with women’s preferences on how to organise their caring life and working life; • the impact on women’s welfare if these measures do not complement women’s preferences; • how to reduce the potentially negative effects of such measures on women’s welfare. In the life-​mix framework, a caring life refers to a life pattern where people spend most of adult life as an informal care provider, whereas a working life is one where people occupy most of their adult life working in the work economy. These will be further elaborated later in this chapter. In the rest of this introductory chapter, we will present the key components of the conceptual framework, highlight the objectives of this book, introduce our study approach, examine the book’s potential contributions to welfare studies and provide a chapter outline.

The life-​mix framework ‘Life-​mix’ in this book refers to the various combinations of people’s caring and working lives. The life-​mix framework developed for this book is composed of five key elements –​life-​mix preferences, policy strategies on productivism, welfare models on work and care, welfare outcomes and life-​ mix policy suggestions (see Figure 1.1). Figure 1.1: The life-​mix framework Life-mix framework

Life-mix preferences

Policy strategies on productivism

Welfare models on work and care

2

Welfare outcomes

Policy suggestions

Introduction

Life-​mix preferences People may have different preferences on life-​mix patterns at different times, such as: • • • • • •

attaching to a working life; attaching to a caring life; attaching to a caring life and a working life at the same time; shifting from a working life to a caring life; shifting from a caring life to a working life; detaching from both a working life and a caring life.

People may be able to meet their life-​mix preferences by their own efforts such as attaching to a working life through active participation in the paid labour market, or attaching to a caring life through taking up care responsibilities in the family. However, there is no guarantee that all can live according to their preferences; some may face difficulties in organising their working life or caring life in the ways they like. These difficulties can be caused by a number of factors, such as an unequal gender division of care responsibilities in the family, insufficient family income, an unfair distribution of financial resources in the family and poor recognition of the value of informal care. Evidence shows that many women lack the opportunities to take part in formal employment because of excessive family care responsibilities (Fraser, 1994; Mckeen, 1994; Kroger, 2011; Bracke, 2013, Chau, Foster and Yu, 2016; ILO, 2018; Federici, 2019). In 2018, 606 million women of working age found themselves to be unavailable for employment or not seeking a job because of unpaid care work, while only 41 million men were economically inactive for the same reason (ILO, 2018). As older women often have shorter careers and earn less than men, their pension incomes are therefore usually lower than men’s (Foster and Walker, 2013; Foster, 2014; Bonnet, Meurs and Rapoport, 2018). As reported by the OECD (2019a), women’s average pension incomes were 25 per cent lower than men’s in the EU-​28. Fewer financial resources available may make it difficult for women to choose their ways of living in the later part of their lives. Studies show that many women who engage in a caring life are not given sufficient recognition both in the family and society (Laslett and Brenner, 1989; Bakker, 2007; Norton and Katz, 2017; Toupin, 2018; UN Women, 2019). This is reflected in the underdevelopment of the carers’ allowances and pension systems for informal care providers. This book has a particular concern for the difficulties faced by women in meeting their life-​mix preferences. Nonetheless, the difficulties faced by men in organising their working lives and caring lives should not be overlooked. 3

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

As shown in Chapter 4, many men who prefer a caring life to a working life are not given sufficient support, due to the gender bias in the workplace, the family and government policies. Policy strategies on productivism Policy strategies on productivism refer to governments’ organised actions to promote or support productivism. By using policy measures (such as childcare leave measures and ALMPs), governments attempt to promote people’s participation in paid work or the provision of informal care in the family. These measures may have direct impact on how people organise their life-​mix patterns. Inspired by the discussion of the ideas of the three ‘R’s (‘Recognise’, ‘Reduce’ and ‘Redistribute’) of unpaid care (Elson, 2017; ILO, 2018; Elson and Seth, 2019), we add a fourth ‘R’ –​‘Reward’ –​in our life-​ mix framework. By applying the four ‘R’s to both paid work and informal care, eight life-​mix tactics are identified –​namely, reducing, redistributing, recognising and rewarding work, and reducing, redistributing, recognising and rewarding informal care. Table 1.1 shows these tactics and examples of policy measures that support the respective tactics. People may have diverse preferences on their life-​mix patterns, and productivism can be understood as pro-​work or pro-​care. As shown in Chapter 2, there are two main kinds of production activities: the first is concerned with transforming the factors of production into goods or services, and the second is about sustaining or making the factors of production available. Following this logic, the study of productivism should cover not only the ‘pro-​work’ interpretation of productivism –​which emphasises that adults should participate in formal employment –​but also the ‘pro-​ care’ interpretation of productivism, which emphasises that adults should take part in the provision of informal care in the family. Besides, policy strategies on productivism can aim to support different life-​mix patterns and adopt different combinations of the eight life-​mix tactics mentioned earlier. Table 1.2 provides some examples. Welfare models on work and care In this book, we discuss two welfare models in relation to work and care –​namely, the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. The former has been discussed in a number of studies (Lewis and Giullari, 2005; Annesley, 2007; Daly, 2011; Yu, Chau and Kühner, 2018; Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021). The latter is new to the current literature. By introducing this model, we aim to draw attention to the potential of government policies not only in supporting workers in the paid work economy but also in supporting unpaid carers in the family. 4

Introduction Table 1.1: Life-​mix tactics  

Reduce

Paid work To reduce work responsibilities Policy examples: maximum working hour policy; financial assistance to workers who choose to reduce working hours; pension schemes for early retirees Informal To reduce care informal care responsibilities Policy examples: early childhood education and care provision to outsource care responsibilities from the family to other social sectors

Redistribute

Recognise

Reward

To reallocate work To recognise To give workers responsibilities workers’ status and reasonable returns contributions Policy examples: entitlements to workers to ask for work reallocation on certain grounds, such as health issues and changes in personal circumstances

Policy examples: workers’ awards and bonuses; in-​ service training; occupational benefits

Policy examples: minimum wage policy; subsidised pension

To reallocate informal care responsibilities

To recognise informal care providers’ status and contributions

To give informal care providers reasonable returns

Policy examples: daddy leave to allow fathers time to share care responsibilities; childcare training for fathers

Policy examples: celebratory events for informal carers, such as Carers’ Day and carers’ awards

Policy examples: carers’ allowances; pension schemes/​ credits for carers

The supported adult worker model stresses the importance of assisting not only male adults but also female adults to respond to changes in the global knowledge economy and participate in formal employment (Yu, Chau and Kühner, 2018). The supported adult carer model arises from the ideas of the ‘caregiver parity model’, which stresses that women take up most of the care responsibilities in the family, and the state should recognise the value of their unpaid work through generous care allowances and other benefits (Crompton, 1999; Ciccia and Verloo, 2012; Ciccia and Bleijenbergh, 2014). Unlike the caregiver parity model, the supported adult carer model does not necessarily stress gender differences. It emphasises that adults (men and women) who want to play the role of care provider in the family should be given the opportunity to do so. These two models have a close relationship with policy strategies on productivism. They provide the foundation for the development of ‘pro-​ work’ and ‘pro-​care’ policy strategies respectively; whereas policy strategies on productivism can put some of the ideas of the two supported adult models into practice. The strategies built on these two supported adult models may not necessarily be able to support people’s decisions on detaching from 5

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 1.2: Policy strategies on productivism Policy strategies on productivism

Interpretations of productivism

Combinations of life-​mix tactics

To support people to attach to a Pro-​work working life only

To recognise and reward paid work Policy examples: see Table 1.1

To support people to attach to a Pro-​care caring life only

To recognise and reward informal care Policy examples: see Table 1.1

To support people to attach to both a working life and a caring life

Pro-​work and pro-​care

To recognise and reward both paid work and informal care Policy examples: subsidies for adjustment and purchase of equipment to make workers’ homes suitable for work; making the workplace suitable for providing informal care by providing childcare facilities and encouraging workers to bring children to work

To support people to shift from a working life to a caring life

Pro-​care

To reward informal care Policy examples: financial support, training and support for those who choose to move from paid work to providing informal care

To support people to shift from a caring life to a working life

Pro-​work

To reward work Policy examples: financial incentives, training and career support to those who choose to move from providing informal care to formal employment

both their working life and caring life. This means they may not be able to meet all life-​mix preferences. The supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model are related to but different from three other models used in the understanding of people’s relationships to work and care. These models are the male-​breadwinner model, the unsupported adult worker model and the unsupported adult carer model. The supported and unsupported adult worker models The male-​breadwinner model stresses that men should provide the family with financial resources by taking part in the work economy, whereas women should take up most of the care responsibilities at home (Crompton, 1999; Lewis, 2001; Ciccia and Bleijenbergh, 2014; Trappe, Pollmann-​Schult and Schmitt, 2015); and women are expected to depend financially on male family members (Lewis and Giullari, 2005; Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021). This 6

Introduction

means that men should commodify their labour in the employment market and women are expected to live a decommodified life. Whether women are able to fulfil this expectation depends on the amount of financial resources their male family members could earn from the labour market and the extent to which they can access these resources. It is important to note that on some occasions men may not be able to earn enough to support the family and/​or are unwilling to give away the amount that the family needs from their earnings. To search for an alternative to the male-​breadwinner model, analysts have drawn attention to the unsupported and supported adult worker models (Lewis and Giullari, 2005; Annesley, 2007). These two models differ in their emphasis on governments’ level of support for people’s participation in formal employment. The unsupported adult worker model suggests that governments should limit their support to a minimum level so that people (both women and men) have no choice but to maintain their standard of living through selling their labour in the work economy (Yu, Chau and Jung, 2020). In contrast, the supported adult worker model calls for a proactive role of governments in supporting people (women in particular) to balance labour force participation and care duties (Annesley, 2007; Marceno and Pera, 2017; Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021). Governments may do so by providing subsidised public childcare services, paid maternity leave and paid father-​ specific leave (Annesley, 2007; Daly, 2011). Subsidised public childcare services can reduce the care responsibilities of the family (Esping-​Andersen, 1999; Kroger, 2011; Chau and Yu, 2021). Paid maternity leave offers mothers of newborn babies time and resources to decide whether to spend more time on childcare or to continue their career (Bambra, 2007; Chau and Yu, 2020). Paid father-​specific leave allows time for fathers to take up childcare responsibilities. The aim is to reduce women’s role in taking care of young children and to alleviate gender inequality in the division of care labour in the family (Lewis and Giullari, 2005; Haas and Rostgaard, 2011; Ciccia and Bleijenbergh, 2014). More details of the public childcare services and paid leave benefits are discussed in Chapter 4. The unsupported adult worker model and the supported adult worker model can serve as alternatives to the male-​breadwinner model. Both of them stress the importance of adults’ (men’s and women’s) participation in the work economy. However, both of them have limitations in meeting people’s diverse preferences in their life-​mix patterns. Due to the unequal gender division of care responsibilities, women are more likely than men to be the main care providers in their families (Daly, 2011; Yu, Chau and Lo, 2021). Unless their families can afford to purchase private care, it is not easy for women to secure sufficient time to take part in formal employment even if they are highly motivated by their personal career aspirations, or by the lack of alternatives in securing sufficient income under the government’s 7

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

unsupported adult worker model, for example. By upholding the supported adult worker model, some governments may be keener to create favourable conditions (such as through the provision of childcare and paid leave) for women to attach to a working life. However, it is important not to overlook the welfare of those who prefer the role of full-​time informal care in the family to the role of worker in the paid labour market. Attaching undue importance to the unsupported and supported adult worker models runs the risk of blinding government policies to these people’s life-​mix preferences and the need for financial support and autonomy. The supported and unsupported adult carer models Although the supported adult carer model shares some commonalities with the male-​breadwinner model (for example, the assumption that women often play the role of the main care provider in the family and live a decommodified life), it can bring about very different effects on women’s lives. Policy measures based on the male breadwinner model can result in economic subordination of women to men. In contrast, the supported adult carer model guarantees women sufficient positive freedom to provide care in the family. Instead of giving them no choice but to play the role of family care provider, this model provides support to those women who prefer a caring life to a working life. If a government favours this model, it is likely to adopt policy measures such as individual-​based carers’ allowances and carers’ credit schemes in the pension system. With the support of these measures, family care providers may be able to achieve a reasonable standard of living even if they do not take part in formal employment and receive no financial support from their family members. The provision of these measures conveys a message that providing informal care in the family is a social right adults enjoy rather than a family obligation that adults fail to avoid due to their inferior status in the family. Another alternative to the male-​breadwinner model is the unsupported adult carer model. As with the supported adult carer model, this model emphasises that adults may prefer to organise their adult lives mainly as family care providers. However, this model stresses that governments should avoid giving support to people who have this preference. These people would need to seek financial support from other sources such as their families. Similar to the full-​time family carers under the male-​ breadwinner model, women’s welfare (and that of other full-​time family care providers) under the unsupported adult carer model will be subject to the extent of the financial support they can access in their families; and their relationships with family members (especially the financial providers, who are usually male) may not differ significantly from those under the male-​breadwinner model. 8

Introduction

Table 1.3 highlights the differences and similarities of the five models (the male-​breadwinner model, the supported adult worker model, the unsupported adult worker model, the supported adult carer model and the unsupported adult carer model). Different governments may favour different combinations of these models, such as: • the unsupported adult worker model +​the male-​breadwinner model; • the supported adult worker model +​the unsupported adult carer model; • the unsupported adult worker model +​the unsupported adult carer model. It is worth noting that some governments may organise their policy measures based on different models in different policy domains, and/​or assist men to attach to one supported adult model but women to attach to another supported adult model. Governments’ preferences for these models may also change over time and so may the corresponding policy measures. Welfare outcomes Welfare policy measures can lead to different outcomes. Policy strategies on productivism can function as more than meeting people’s life-​mix preferences; they can also serve to uphold certain welfare principles and support the development of some societal ideals. In this book, we have particular interest in the welfare principle of ‘protected autonomy in life-​ mix’. Autonomy refers to ‘one’s capacity to form principles of one’s own and to act upon them’ (Goodin et al, 2008, p 27). To be autonomous is ‘to decide for oneself what one shall do’ (Feinberg, 1980, p 19). As shown in welfare literature, social security measures play an important role in reducing the welfare threat created by ‘want’ (Beveridge, 1942; Baldock, 2012). This implies that the provision of protection can be associated with the guarantee of material security. Following this logic, this book stresses that receiving sufficient protection means having adequate material resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. Hence, the welfare principle of ‘protected autonomy in life-​mix’ refers to a firm belief that people’s material lives should be protected no matter whether they choose to take part in the work economy as a worker or to perform the role as the main care provider in the family; and the choice they make will not undermine their chance of having a reasonable standard of living. At the same time as putting forward the ideas of this welfare principle, this book suggests a societal ideal called ‘inclusively productive society’. This ideal society has three features. First, all adults are encouraged to take part in production either directly in economic production or in supportive activities, such as care in the family. Second, all adults are given the opportunity to take part in production through playing the role of worker in the work 9

newgenrtpdf

Table 1.3: Characteristics of the five work and care models Model

Male-​breadwinner model

Dimension

Supported adult worker model

Unsupported adult worker model

Supported adult carer model

Unsupported adult carer model

Both men and women may take part in paid work by their own means; no clearly defined gender division of care

Both men and women have the opportunities and support to become family carers; no clearly defined gender division of care

Both men and women may become family carers by their own means; no clearly defined gender division of care

Women’s participation in the work economy

Women financially rely on their male family members and are not expected to take part in the job market

Women are assisted to take up paid work, are financially independent from their families, and (like men) are seen as citizen workers

Women are expected to take part in the labour market by their own means

Women who choose to become family carers are not expected to take up paid work, they are financially supported by the government and can be seen as citizen carers

Women who play the role of family carers are not expected to take part in the work economy if they have the financial support from other means

Important care responsibilities are outsourced from the family to the government

Important care responsibilities are outsourced to the private sector if the family can afford to do so

The family takes up the majority of care responsibilities with support from the government

The family takes up the majority of care responsibilities

Pro-​work

Pro-​care

Pro-​care

The division of care The family takes up responsibilities between the majority of care the family and the responsibilities government

Interpretations of productivism

Gendered productivism: pro-​ Pro-​work work for men and pro-​care for women

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

Women act as the main care Both men and women providers in the family, and have the men go out to work opportunities and support to take up paid work; no clearly defined gender division of care

10

Gender division of care and work

Introduction

economy or strengthening the factors of production through the provision of informal care. Third, all adults are guaranteed a reasonable standard of living regardless of the ways they take part in production. To a certain extent, this ideal society is indebted to the ideas of the ‘commonwealth’ discussed in Confucian literature. There will be detailed discussion of the idea of commonwealth in Chapter 2. Not all governments would give full consideration to people’s diverse life-​mix preferences in its policy strategies. Some policy strategies can work against people’s wishes and undermine rather than strengthen people’s welfare. Hence, it is necessary to pay attention to the negative welfare outcomes produced by the government’s policy strategies on productivism. In this book, we examine three potential welfare outcomes termed ‘life-​ mix challenges’ which could exert negative effects on people’s lives. They are ‘life-​mix relational constraints’, ‘life-​mix material gap’ and ‘user deficit’. They can be seen as specific forms of relational deprivation or material deprivation that people may come across when handling life-​mix issues (Yu, Chau and Kühner, 2018). Relational deprivation can be caused by involuntary participation in unwanted social relationships and/​or a lack of sufficient opportunities to participate in the social relationships that people want. Material deprivation is concerned with a lack of sufficient resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. Chapter 2 provides more detailed discussion of these two deprivations. Life-​mix relational constraints Life-​mix relational constraints are about people’s lack of opportunities to organise their working or caring lives in the ways they prefer. As a result, they may suffer from involuntary participation in the unwanted caring or working roles, and/​or not being able to take part in the caring or working roles they favour. The existence of the life-​mix relational constraints may reflect other problems –​for example, people lack sufficient resources (such as skills and time) to meet the requirements of the jobs they want to do; people lack the power to bargain over the allocation of care or financial responsibilities in the family; and people who want to play the role of full-​ time family care providers lack the financial support from their family or from their governments to do so. Life-​mix material gaps Life-​mix material gaps occur when there is a reduction in financial resources available for people to maintain a reasonable standard of living when they move from one life-​mix pattern to another. People may come across these gaps when they attempt to change their life-​mix patterns. For 11

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

example, a mother may find it necessary to stop working in order to care for her newborn child; but after she moves to being a full-​time informal care provider, she no longer has sufficient financial resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. The discussion of life-​mix material gaps provides insights into the study of how to respond to people’s diverse life-​ mix preferences. First, to avoid falling into a life-​mix material gap, people may choose not to move to another life-​mix pattern that they may prefer. In this case, it can be said that people are in a dilemma –​they cannot avoid either the risk of falling into a life-​mix material gap or facing a life-​mix relational constraint. Second, one life-​mix material gap can link to another. For example, when a mother chooses to quit her job in order to look after her newborn child, she may not only lose resources (gained from the working economy) to maintain a reasonable standard of living but also lose resources to contribute to pension schemes. As a result, she faces not only a life-​mix material gap when she becomes a mother but also another life-​mix material gap when she becomes a retiree. Third, as different people may have different views on the relative desirability of various life-​mix patterns, they may have different expectations on the ways their governments assist them to narrow any life-​mix material gaps. Fourth, it is possible that people from the same family face different life-​mix material gaps at the same time. To make the matter even more complicated, different family members may have preferences in relation to different kinds of government assistance. For instance, when a male-​breadwinner is unable to raise sufficient money to support the family, he may insist upon taking on social assistance provided by the government instead of using childcare services or sharing some of the childcare responsibilities to allow time for his wife or the mother of his children to take up paid work. User deficit The concept of user deficit arises from the concept of consumer surplus, which refers to the difference between the total amount that consumers are willing or able to pay for goods or services and the total amount that they actually pay (the market price) (Boulding, 1945). There are several implications of the concept of consumer surplus. First, different people may value the same goods or services differently, and as a result are willing to pay different prices for the same thing. Second, different people may bear different opportunity costs of purchasing the same good or service. This can be another reason why they are willing to pay different prices. Third, people do not have control over the price of goods and services in the market but they make their own decisions about entering and leaving the market. Fourth, people are likely to choose not to buy some goods or services if the price is higher than they are willing to pay. By doing so, 12

Introduction

they can secure the consumer surplus or at least make sure the opportunity cost they pay is no more than the utility they can gain. Fifth, it is possible that consumer deficit exists. This concept is concerned with the possibility that consumers pay more than they are willing to. This can occur if the consumption is compulsory or if the consumers find it difficult to adjust their consumption behaviours in a short period of time. For example, during the COVID-​19 pandemic, the Hong Kong SAR government required inbound travellers from certain countries to stay in designated hotels for quarantine (HKSAR Government, 2021). Such consumption of the hotel service is mandatory, no matter whether the travellers agree with this policy or not. Another example is about the tobacco tax in the UK. It has been argued that a higher price is the most effective way to reduce tobacco consumption (Campaign for Tobacco-​free Kids, 2012). There has been a constant increase in tobacco tax since 1993. In October 2021, the tobacco tax was further raised by 2 per cent above inflation for most cigarette packs and inflation plus 6 per cent for rolling tobacco. People who are unable to change their consumption behaviour would have a high price to pay –​over £1,000 per year in tax if they are smoking three packets of cigarettes per week (Politics.co.uk, 2021). Based on the concepts of consumer surplus and consumer deficit, we develop two corresponding concepts –​namely, the ‘user surplus’ and the ‘user deficit’. The user surplus is concerned with the possibility that the opportunity cost of using a public service is lower than what people are willing to take. The user deficit is about the possibility that the opportunity cost of using a public service is higher than what people are willing to pay. User deficit can be caused by three factors. First, users are legally required to use some services. As a result, they have no choice but to use some services even if they are required to pay a higher opportunity cost than they are willing to do. For example, young people are required to attend compulsory education up to a certain age, although some may prefer entering the labour market sooner to earn a wage. Second, the use of a public service is a family decision rather than an individual one. Some people may be obliged to use a public service regardless of the high opportunity cost they have to bear personally because their family members who make the decisions can enjoy a user surplus. For instance, a family head may decide to take up a subsidised home buyer scheme despite the fact that she/​he has to rely on other family members to pay the mortgage. Third, governments do not give people sufficient time to adjust to policy changes. As a result, people cannot reduce or withdraw from the use of the service in time to avoid the user deficit. An example is, when lockdown measures were introduced to care homes in Britain during the COVID-​19 pandemic, many families were unable to arrange alternative care arrangements in time. Sadly, some service users (such as people affected by dementia) in these residential care 13

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

facilities died from the disease in care homes or suffered from a decline of mental and physical health (Alzheimer’s Society, 2021). Another example is the Universal Credit policy initially introduced by the British government in 2011. This is a policy to combine various social benefits for low-​ income households into one monthly payment. The aims, according to its supporters, are to simplify the benefits system and to increase the work incentives of the claimants (Butler, 2018). The roll-​out of this new scheme was seriously delayed due to multiple problems. One of these concerns people’s lack of computer skills and/​or access to any digital devices to make a claim or to maintain the claim through the online journal (CPAG, 2018). For claimants who are computer-​illiterate or have difficulties in acquiring the skills in a short time, they would have to pay the cost of delayed and/​ or missed payments.

Book objectives In relation to the aims of this book, we would like to meet four objectives: • to discuss the theoretical foundation of the life-​mix framework; • to explore the significance of this framework in the research of welfare policies on work and care; • to examine the uniqueness of East Asian welfare regimes with reference to the common assumption of their productivist nature; • to explore the relationship between welfare policies that affect people’s life-​mix patterns and conventional agendas on welfare issues. Objective 1: To discuss the theoretical foundation of the life-​mix framework To meet the first objective, we review literature concerning life-​mix patterns and productivism. Six welfare views are drawn from the review. They are: • equal support should be given to both workers and carers; • ways to strengthen both the supported adult worker and supported adult carer models should be explored; • measures to promote the principle of protected autonomy in the life-​mix should be identified; • awareness of the impacts of government intervention on people’s life-​mix patterns should be enhanced; • people’s preferences and capacity in organising their life-​mix should be recognised and respected; • the feasibility and desirability of building an inclusive productive society should be explored. 14

Introduction

These welfare views provide the justifications for the study of the five key elements of the life-​mix framework. The details of these studies and welfare views are discussed in Chapter 2. Objective 2: To explore the significance of the life-​mix framework We adopt two approaches to meet this objective –​the supply approach and the demand approach. The focus of the supply approach is on the government. It is concerned with identifying examples of the four key elements of the life-​mix framework –​policy strategies on productivism, the welfare models associated with these strategies, welfare outcomes and policy suggestions. These examples are drawn from the case study of four areas of policy measures –​namely, childcare leave measures, early childhood education and care (ECEC), pensions and active labour market policies (ALMPs) in seven countries and territories (namely, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, South Korea, Sweden and the UK). These seven countries and territories have been classified as having different welfare regimes based on the concept of labour decommodification (Esping-​Andersen, 1990; Karim, Eikemo and Bambra, 2010; Kroger, 2011; Yu, Chau and Lee, 2015) –​Hong Kong and South Korea are seen as members of the Confucian or East Asian productivist group; the UK is regarded as a member of the liberal group; Sweden is regarded as a member of the social democratic group; France and Germany belong to the conservative group, in which the governments take an active role in strengthening the importance of the family in providing welfare; and Hungary has a post-​socialist welfare regime. Family policies in these seven countries and territories are seen to belong to different models. For example, Gauthier (1996) sees France as an example of the pro-​family/​ pro-​natalist model, Germany as an example of the pro-​traditional model and the UK as under the pro-​family but non-​interventionist model. Lewis (1992) classifies the UK as a strong male-​breadwinner state (marked by low levels of female labour market participation and publicly funded childcare as well as minimal rights); France as a modified male-​breadwinner state (characterised by high levels of public childcare provision, and disincentives for second earners to work long hours created by the tax system); and Sweden as a dual breadwinner state (marked by the recognition of women as citizen workers). According to the Human Development Index (UNDP, 2020), the seven countries and territories studied in this book belong to the very high human development group. The gap of rankings between them in this index is not small. Hong Kong is ranked fourth, Germany is ranked sixth, Sweden is ranked seventh, the UK is ranked 13th, South Korea is ranked 23rd, France is ranked 26th and Hungary is in 40th place. There are 36 countries and territories in the league table between Hong Kong and Hungary. The four policy case studies can be found in Chapters 4 to 6. 15

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

The focus of the demand approach is on people. It is concerned with providing real-​life examples of the attempts made by people to meet their life-​mix preferences, the life-​mix challenges that people experience and their expectations of the role of the government in dealing with these challenges. The discussion is based on the findings of two qualitative studies on whether and how women in Hong Kong accumulate pension incomes and organise transnational family care. These two studies were conducted in conjunction with a community centre that serves local workers and residents in a mixed industrial and residential district.1 The details are in Chapter 7. Objective 3: To examine the uniqueness of East Asian welfare regimes A number of studies about the East Asian welfare regimes are under the influence of two perspectives –​the culturalist and the productivist (Jones, 1993; Rieger and Leibfried, 2003; Gough, 2004; Won and Pascall, 2004; Karim, Eikemo and Bambra, 2010; Leung and Chan, 2012; Hudson et al, 2014; Yu, 2014). The culturalist perspective is highly related to the male-​ breadwinner model; whereas the productivist perspective is associated with the supported adult worker model. As far as we are aware, no study of East Asian welfare regimes has been based on the supported adult carer model. In this book, we will apply the three models (the male-​breadwinner, the supported adult worker and the supported adult carer model) to the study of the uniqueness of East Asian welfare regimes and show how East Asian countries and territories provide an important ground for observation of how government policies could influence people’s life-​mix patterns. Objective 4: To explore the relationships between life-mix related policies and conventional welfare debates To meet this objective, we will examine the following welfare issues: problems concerning unpaid care and unemployment among women; international agendas on human welfare; and approaches to pro-​market welfare reforms and government responses to the challenges of the COVID-​ 19 pandemic crisis. The discussion of these issues will be connected to the conventional debate on some major policy and academic agendas –​these are social investment, inclusive growth, defamilisation/​familisation and the capability approach. Unpaid care and unemployment among women As discussed in the previous section, there is a rising concern about unpaid care and unemployment among women in the international community. One 16

Introduction

of the ways to tackle these problems is to provide women with opportunities and support them to take part in the work economy. However, given that both women and men can have diverse life-​mix preferences, it is important not to assume that assisting women to lead a working life is the only solution to the unequal allocation of unpaid care and unemployment. The government should consider giving financial support to people (women or men) who prefer to provide informal care in the family instead of taking part in formal employment. The more policy options governments could offer to uphold different life-​mix patterns, the greater the chance of promoting gender equality and autonomy. International agendas on human welfare The discussion of people’s life-​mix preferences and policies on productivism provides insights into the search for ways to respond to some international agendas, such as Europe 2020: A European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth (EC, 2010) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (UN, 2015), with concern about people’s working and caring lives. Europe 2020 sets out a vision of Europe’s social market economy for the 21st century. It has three mutually reinforcing priorities (smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive growth), five headline targets and seven flagship initiatives (EC, 2010). Evidence shows that Europe 2020 has more direct and explicit relevance to people’s working lives than their caring lives (Kasprzyk and Wojnar, 2021; Walesiak, Dehnel and Obrebalski, 2021). In discussing the concept of inclusive growth, the EC (2010) stresses ‘empowering people through high levels of employment, investing in skills’ (p 18) and proposes the target that ‘75% of the population aged 20–​64 should be employed’ (p 6). Europe 2020 also has relevance to people’s caring lives. The European Commissioner in this document stresses the importance of building a cohesive society, fighting poverty and combating social exclusion (EC, 2010). Its flagship initiatives make such suggestions as promoting a new form of work–​life balance, increasing gender equality and undertaking an assessment of the adequacy and sustainability of social protection and pension systems. These suggestions provide justification for supporting people to organise their caring lives. The 2030 Agenda suggests 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets. This document stresses that if all countries and all stakeholders are committed to the realisation of these goals and targets, the human race can be freed from the tyranny of poverty, having a healing effect on our planet (UN, 2015). The 2030 Agenda is highly relevant to people’s working lives. Goal Eight is concerned with promoting ‘sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic 17

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’. Under this goal: ‘By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value’ (p 19); ‘By 2020, substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training’ (p 19); ‘Protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment’ (UN, 2015, p 20). The 2030 Agenda also addresses people’s caring lives. It stresses the connection between achieving gender equality and improving the lives of care providers. Under Goal Five: ‘achieve greater equality and empower all women and girls’; there is a target to ‘recognise and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infra-​structure and social protection policies and promotion of shared responsibility within the household and family as nationally appropriate’ (UN, 2015, p 21). This target is commonly seen to be associated with the view that unpaid work should be recognised, reduced and redistributed (ILO, 2018). In a later part of this book, we will show how the ideas developed in this volume can enrich the suggestions made by Europe 2020 and the 2030 Agenda on improving people’s chances of meeting their life-​mix preferences. If these ideas were accepted, they could make Europe 2020 and the 2030 Agenda more effective for helping women and men to meet their life-​ mix preferences. Pro-​market welfare reforms Pro-​market welfare reforms stress the supremacy of commodity relationships over other social relationships, and the supremacy of the market in the creation and allocation of wealth (Gough, 1979; Mishra, 1984; Walker, 1984; Chau, 1995). Whether governments are willing to develop policy strategies based on both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model, to meet people’s diverse life-​mix preferences, to a certain extent reflects their attitude to pro-​market welfare reforms. The COVID-​19 pandemic crisis The COVID-​19 pandemic seriously undermines people’s chances of organising their caring lives and working lives in the way they prefer (see Chapters 8 and 10 for further discussion). It creates more involuntary unemployment and an unexpected increase in caring responsibilities in the family. Some collective responses to the crisis such as social distancing and travel bubble measures not only make it difficult for people to provide care to their family members in need but have an impact on how family 18

Introduction

members are defined. Some work rearrangements (such as home and work integration) introduced during the pandemic encourage the discussion of important issues, such as how to define the private and public domains and the advantages and disadvantages in carrying out work duties at home or in the office. So studying how to increase people’s chances of meeting their life-​mix preferences in different settings is likely to contribute to the analysis of the implications of the pandemic and government responses to this global health crisis. Relevant welfare ideas Several welfare ideas (such as approaches to social exclusion, the capability approach, defamilisation/​familisation risks, inclusive growth and social investment) are often used in welfare literature to guide the government to respond to material and relational deprivations. However, there is a lack of discussion about the potential of these welfare ideas in supporting the development and redevelopment of policy strategies on productivism based on protected autonomy in life-​mix. In discussing how to meet people’s life-​ mix preferences, this book addresses this grey area. These welfare ideas will be discussed in detail in Chapter 2.

Our study approach This book stresses a combination of academic inquiry and problem-​solving actions. We not only aim to study life-​mix and productivism for academic interest but also attempt to find ways to improve people’s lives. We intend to explore ways to create favourable conditions for meeting people’s diverse life-​mix preferences, upholding the principle of protected autonomy in life-​ mix and building an inclusively productive society. Based on a literature review, we demonstrate the advantages of giving equal recognition to two kinds of production (those that transform the factors of production into goods/​services, and those that add value to the factors of production). In addition, we investigate the inadequacies of the male-​ breadwinner model in responding to people’s diverse preferences on life-​ mix, and suggest that the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model would be better substitutes in guiding governments to formulate policy measures. We expose the inadequacies of the national policies and international policies through examining policy case studies, reviewing interview findings and studying international agreements on human welfare. The policy case studies in Chapters 4 to 6 show that most of the seven governments do not attach sufficient importance to the supported adult worker model or the supported adult carer model, or both. As a result, there is no guarantee that 19

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

people, especially women, can organise their lives free from the life-​mix challenges. The interview findings in Chapter 7 about the experiences of women in Hong Kong in handling pension and care issues show that it is not unusual for women to face life-​mix challenges in their daily lives, and women’s expectations that the government should play an active role in meeting their diverse life-​mix preferences are not necessarily met. The studies of international agreements (Europe 2020 and the 2030 Agenda) in Chapter 8 show that the supported adult carer model and the supported adult worker model have not received sufficient attention from the international policy and academic community. As a result, the chance of developing international solutions to eliminate people’s vulnerability to life-​mix challenges is undermined. In the final part of this book, we make policy suggestions concerning how to meet people’s diverse life-​mix preferences, uphold the principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix and build an inclusively productive society. These suggestions include: breaking the link between the life-​mix challenges; meeting near-​future goals for building an inclusively productive society at the same time; promoting the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model in a wide range of policy domains; adding new items to international agreements; and reinterpreting important welfare ideas with the emphasis on both pro-​care productivism and pro-​ work productivism.

Contributions of this book With a stress on the close link between the investigation of productivism and the study of life-​mix, discussion in this book centres on the five components of the life-​mix framework. The discussion has the potential to enrich academic understanding of productivism and life-​mix, and to contribute to the development of national and international policies concerning women’s welfare and their working and caring lives. As shown earlier, this book presents the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix, which is manifested in the implementation of both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. This principle is an integral part of an ‘inclusively productive society’. We demonstrate how the study of these two supported adult models as alternatives to the male-​breadwinner model provides new insights into the study of welfare regimes, contributes to the development of national and international policies and adds new dimensions to the interpretation of major welfare ideas. Chapter 3 shows how the discussion of the male-​breadwinner model together with the two supported adult worker models contributes to the analysis of the uniqueness of the East Asian welfare regimes. 20

Introduction

Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 8 show that new criteria developed on the basis of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model can be used to assess the national policies and international agreements and to search for policy suggestions. Chapter 9 shows that the discussion of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model adds new dimensions to the interpretations of important welfare ideas, and that welfare ideas interpreted in different ways can form coalitions to support the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. Finally, this book raises concerns that women with different life-​mix preferences can be vulnerable to different kinds of life-​mix challenges. This provides the reason why we need to build an inclusively productive society for both women and men.

Plan of the book There are ten chapters in this book. After this introductory chapter, Chapter 2 discusses the theoretical foundation of the life-​mix framework. Chapter 3 investigates the uniqueness of the East Asian welfare regimes based on the two supported adult models and the male-​breadwinner model. In Chapters 4, 5 and 6, we use the supply approach to explore the significance of the key elements of the life-​mix framework. Four policy domains (childcare leave measures, ECEC, pensions and ALMPs) in the seven countries and territories are used as case studies. In Chapter 7, we use the demand approach to explore the empirical significance of the key elements of the life-​mix framework. This is done by presenting the findings of two qualitative studies conducted in Hong Kong. These studies provide examples of how women attempt to meet their life-​mix preferences, the life-​mix challenges they face and their expectations of the government in tackling these challenges. Both Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 are concerned with creating favourable conditions for meeting people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix. Chapter 8 makes policy suggestions. Chapter 9 shows how the discussion of welfare ideas can be used to enhance the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. Chapter 10 is the conclusion to this book. It discusses the contributions of the volume to welfare literature and suggests further research. Data used in this book come from various sources. Most information is from datasets of international organisations, such as the European Union (EU), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Organisation of Economic Co-​operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank (WB). Some are from international research networks such as the International Network on Leave Policies and Researchers. However, not all the seven countries and territories discussed in this book are members of these organisations or networks. In some cases, we 21

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

use national/​territorial data such as those from government departments or offices of statistics instead. The sources of the data are stated in the respective parts, including those compiled by the authors. Since not all datasets contain data of the same periods of time, we include the latest comparative data wherever possible. In the cases of variations in terminologies or measurement methods, the differences are stated. We also cross-​check international data with information from national/​territorial sources such as government websites, policy literature and research reports. Since not all information is available in English, we use translation apps (such as Google Translate) to help understand some non-​English documents and consult native speakers of the respective languages in case of any doubt. Despite all these efforts, we must accept that policies and data are ever-​changing but we have used all available means to ensure the accuracy of the information at the time of writing. The qualitative data in Chapter 7 are drawn from two primary studies concerning the ways women in Hong Kong accumulate pension incomes and organise transnational family care.

22

2

The theoretical foundation of the life-​mix framework Introduction As discussed in Chapter 1, we intend to contribute to current welfare debate concerning productivism and women’s working and caring lives. It would be impossible to achieve this without a careful review of existing literature. This chapter shows how insights from the current debate provide the theoretical foundation for the development of the life-​mix framework and the new dimensions that this framework offers. It starts with relevant Western ideas in contemporary literature, including production activities, social exclusion, the capability approach, models of gender division of labour, the de/​commodification and de/​familisation risks, and the productive dimensions of welfare policies. This is followed by a discussion of two concepts commonly quoted as the societal ideals in East Asian countries that share a cultural root in Confucianism. These are the commonwealth and the better-​off society. The inclusion of ideas from both the West and East Asian literature is partly because both Western and East Asian welfare policies are used as case studies in this book. More importantly, we believe that ideas from both Western and non-​Western analysts are valuable in the understanding of welfare issues found in different societies. In the last part of this chapter, we draw insights from the review and show how existing literature provides a solid theoretical foundation for the life-​mix framework, and offers insights into the development of new dimensions. This is summed up as six views on how welfare policies could react to the issues concerning productivism and people’s diverse life-​mix preferences.

Production activities As discussed in Chapter 1, productivism stresses the importance of seeing participation in production activities in the economy as an important part of adult life (Van der Veen and Groot, 2006). In almost every economics textbook, there is a discussion of two important kinds of production activity: the first is concerned with transforming the factors of production into goods or services, and the second is concerned with making the factors of production available (Lipsey, 1995; Frank and Bernanke, 2009). The first kind of production activity links to people’s working lives; the second links to 23

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

people’s caring lives. A common way to transform the factors of production into goods and services, especially in urban cities, is to take part in formal employment. Many policy measures such as earnings-​related pension schemes and education are founded on an assumption that their users spend most of their adult life in formal employment. Land, labour, entrepreneurship and capital are commonly seen as important factors of production (Lipsey, 1995). Without a sufficient supply of these factors, it is difficult to secure a constant production of commodities or services. The economic value of the attempts to guarantee a regular supply of labour is recognised in the discussion of unpaid care. Estimates based on time-​survey data in 64 countries show that 16.4 billion hours are spent in unpaid work every day (ILO, 2018). This is equivalent to two billion people working eight hours per day with no remuneration (ILO, 2018). Heintz (2019) argues that unpaid care services should be seen as an essential investment because they can yield returns in terms of greater productivity of human beings in the future. Elson and Fontana (2019, p 27) point out that ‘economies are dependent on care work, both paid and unpaid, to survive and thrive’. Heintz (2019, p 108) stresses that informal care produces ‘the physical organisms we call people and the capacities those people have to do things with their lives’. Both work and provision of informal care in the family are widely seen as important parts of an adult life. This is reflected in the World Values Survey (World Values Survey Association, 2020). In response to the question ‘Would you say it [work] is very important, rather important, not very important or not important at all?’, 61 per cent of 69,578 respondents (from 48 countries) replied that it was very important. 63.1 per cent of respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statement ‘Being a housewife is just as fulfilling as working for pay’ (World Values Survey Wave 7, 2017–​2020) (World Values Survey Association, 2020). The discussion of unpaid care occupies an important part of women’s studies (Laslett and Brenner, 1989; Bakker, 2007; Norton and Katz, 2017; Toupin, 2018; Federici, 1984; 2019). These studies show that the provision of unpaid care (mainly by women) contributes significantly to production and capital accumulation (Norton and Katz, 2017). However, this kind of contribution is not fully recognised as work but is regarded as a kind of unwaged informal activity conducted in the domestic sphere (Laslett and Brenner, 1989). The view that the provision of informal care is not work deprives informal care providers in the family of a status as workers. This makes their labour seen as a kind of externality and artificially separates production from reproduction (Bakker, 2007). To respond to these problems, studies have been done to document unpaid work such as childcare, food preparation and cleaning (Norton and Katz, 2017; Toupin, 2018). Moreover, there are social movements such as the Wages for Housework campaign advocating that housework should be seen as work (Mckeen, 1994; Bracke, 24

The life-mix framework

2013; Rai, Hoskyns and Thomas, 2014; Toupin, 2018; Federici, 2019). These movements are not without criticisms –​for example, they have been criticised for institutionalising gendered roles and commodifying intimate human relationships of love and care. Despite that, these movements play an important role in promoting two socialist feminist principles –​women should be financially independent from men and the work of housewives should be recognised (Mckeen, 1994). In view of the discussion mentioned earlier, it is reasonable to give recognition to the value of both the production activities concerned with transforming the factors of production into goods or services and the production activity concerned with securing the availability of the factors of production. Following this logic, the study of productivism should cover not only pro-​work productivism which emphasises that adults should take part in formal employment but also pro-​care productivism which emphasises that adults should take part in the provision of informal care in the family.

Social exclusion Since the early 1990s, there has been an expanding volume of studies of social exclusion. The increasing popularity of the concept of social exclusion represents social scientists’ attempts to identify different kinds of welfare threats experienced by people (Chau, Yu and Boxall, 2018). Walker and Walker (1997) stress that the main cause of social exclusion is the unequal distribution of resources. Saraceno (1997) sees social exclusion as an expression of social disintegration and individual detachment from the social order. Similarly, Abrahamson (1997) suggests that individuals may be socially excluded because of discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, sexual orientation and other social locations. The Social Exclusion Unit in the UK stressed that social exclusion is a shorthand term for what can happen when people or areas suffer from not only economic difficulties such as low incomes but also relational problems such as family breakdown (Levitas et al, 2007). Like these studies of social exclusion, Castel (2000) drew our attention to the material and the relational dimensions of social exclusion. In discussing vagrants, Castel (2000) highlighted that people may find themselves in different zones in the social space –​integration, vulnerability and disaffiliation zones. To be in the zone of integration means that one is guaranteed a permanent job and receives support from social relationships; to be in the zone of vulnerability means that one has both insecure work and fragile relationships; and to be in the zone of disaffiliation means one has no job and faces social isolation. In response to different views on social exclusion, Levitas (1998) identified three different discourses on social exclusion –​the moral underclass discourse 25

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

(MUD), the socially integrated discourse (SID) and the redistributive discourse (RED). The MUD attributes people’s moral and cultural characters to their exclusion from work. It is closely related to welfare residualism. To tackle social exclusion, it stresses the importance of reducing people’s dependency culture by making welfare cuts and selling their labour power in the market. To a certain extent, the MUD serves to reinforce the unsupported adult worker model. As discussed in Chapter 1, this model stresses that people will be ‘encouraged’ to take part in the work economy if the government refuses to give them support. The SID focuses on improving the employability of those excluded from the job market. It is closely related to some ALMP measures such as jobseekers’ allowances and vocational training for unemployed people. The RED focuses on promoting the social rights of socially excluded groups. The supporters of RED suggest an extensive redistribution of resources from the rich to the poor. By doing so, socially excluded people may be able to have a reasonable standard of living without taking part in the labour market. This is also useful in increasing their bargaining power in the labour market and helping them to improve working conditions (Chau, 2012). Moreover, with government support, people can choose to play the role of informal care provider in the family. This implies that the RED has the potential to support people to choose to take part in either a caring life or a working life. However, some analysts argue that social inclusion does not necessarily bring positive outcomes. For example, Elson and Fontana (2019) show four kinds of undesirable inclusion –​forcible inclusion (for example, forced labour, modern slavery); injurious inclusion (for example, unsafe working conditions, long hours of work); impoverished inclusion (for example, returning to work not above poverty); and precarious inclusion (for example, insecure employment). In view of these four types of undesirable inclusion, it is reasonable to respect people’s decisions not only on how to tackle social exclusion but also on whether or not to seek social inclusion. This implies that it may not be sufficient to assist people to tackle social exclusion; we also need to help them to explore the opportunities to play the role of social excluder in case the outcomes of social inclusion are against their interests.

The capability approach The capability approach has been used in the search for ways to promote welfare (Hobson et al, 2011; Korpi et al, 2013; Yu, Chau and Kühner, 2018). It has two key elements: functionings and capabilities. Functionings refer to a person’s being and doing (Sen, 2009). These beings and doings together constitute what makes for well-​being and quality in a person’s life (Egdell and McQuaid, 2016). Capabilities refer to different combinations of functioning that can be achieved (Sen, 1992). 26

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The capability approach has four central ideas. First, capabilities are positive freedom –​freedom to do or be what one values (Robeyns, 2005; Otto, Walker and Ziegler, 2017). This kind of freedom is an end in itself, and not a means for another type of utility. Second, there is a distinction between people who do not realise valued lifestyles by choice and those who do not realise them because they do not have the ability to do so. Kurowska (2018) provides an example to illustrate this distinction –​there is a difference between women who look after their children at home instead of taking part in formal employment because they choose to, and those who do so because they do not have a choice. Third, public policies have the potential to serve as a means to assist people to acquire valued functionings (Hart and Brando, 2018). These policies can be seen as capability-​enhancing policies (Yerkes, Javornik and Kurowska, 2019), although not all these policies are equally effective. Fourth, capability-​enhancing policies are expected to be committed to the aim of social and political justice –​that is, they have a commitment to the aim that all people should have genuine and broadly equal access to the material and social means necessary to live (Kurowska, 2018). In view of these core ideas of the capability approach, the government should respect people’s diverse preferences on their life styles and support people to organise their lives in the ways they prefer. The studies of different discourses on social exclusion, the negative dimensions of social inclusion and the capability approach are useful in informing the search for ways of assisting people to respond to productivism. In response to the discussion mentioned earlier, it is noted in the life-​mix framework that people can be vulnerable to both being involuntarily excluded from production activities and being involuntarily included in production activities. To avoid these problems, it is necessary to support and respect the decisions made by individuals on what kind of production activity they prefer to join and what kind of production activity they prefer not to join.

Models of gender division of labour The division of labour between men and women in the work economy and the family has long been studied as an important part of welfare literature (Lewis, 1992; O’Connor, 1993; Orloff, 1993; Sainsbury, 1994; Bambra, 2007; Daly, 2011; Yamashita, 2017). There is a ‘sameness’ view as well as a ‘difference’ view on this issue (Sainsbury, 1999). The sameness view builds on the ideas of gender equality in the labour market. It stresses that women may want to lead a working life. Hence, they should be given as many opportunities as men in taking part in the labour market. This view is highly related to the expectation on the welfare state that the differences between men and women should be eliminated by engaging women in the 27

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

paid labour force (Crompton, 1999). It is useful in raising our awareness that there is a gender pay gap and gender labour participation gap. As discussed in Chapters 1 and 5, these gaps make it difficult for women to earn as much as men do during their working age and may also have a knock-​on effect, which leads to a difference between their pension incomes after retirement. Based on this view, the government should provide more policy measures based on the supported adult worker model to reduce these gaps. These policy measures may emphasise that a high level of substitute care be provided in a state sector (Gornick and Meyers, 2003). The difference view stresses women’s value as carers. This view emphasises that women may prefer to take part in the family as an informal care provider but this role is often undervalued in family and society. Based on this view, the government should make the difference between men’s and women’s employment patterns costless to women through supporting the time and effort women spend on care (Ciccia and Verloo, 2012). Carers’ allowances and paid leave are commonly used as a means to fulfil this purpose. The life-​mix framework presents two additional views on men’s and women’s preferences on gender division of labour –​the diversity view and the dynamic view. The diversity view is related to the studies of welfare such as those concerning black feminism, super-​women and post-​modernism (Williams, 1989; Ferguson, 2008; Whitty, 2014; Yeung, Chau and Yu, 2014; Sumra and Schillaci, 2015). It stresses that different women can have different life-​mix preferences and that men do not share the same life-​mix preference between themselves. This diverse view is useful in challenging the stereotyping of men’s and women’s roles in their working lives and caring lives. The dynamic view is that men and women may change their views on informal care and work from time to time. Therefore, it is not without reason for analysts to stress the importance of examining policies that allow women to move between successive spells of paid work and care over their lifetimes without being at risk of poverty (Hemerijck, 2015). The dynamic view is related to the studies of those government policies which create more favourable conditions for men to take part in the provision of informal care and for women to develop their career. These studies show that men and women may change their understanding of the relative importance of informal care and work after picking up new experience of joining these production activities. As discussed in Chapter 4, research discusses that fathers are more likely to share more responsibilities after taking daddy leave (Pull and Vogt, 2010; Lapuerta et al, 2011). These research findings reinforce the argument about how to facilitate men to have maternal thinking. In illustrating this argument, Yamashita (2017, p 13) presents this view: ‘Women acquire maternal thinking through engaging with maternal practice. Maternal thinking is not ascribed to mothers. This means that men can become “mothers” through engaging with maternal practice’. The dynamic view 28

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stresses the importance of giving both men and women the opportunities to try different ways of organising their adult lives, avoiding overlooking the possibility that men and women adjust their life-​mix preferences during their life course. This view receives increasing support in the academic community (Kershaw, 2006; Haas and Hwang, 2008; Rehel, 2014). Rehel (2014, p 111) has highlighted this point: ‘The opportunity to experience the transition to parenthood freed of the demands and constraints of work provides fathers the space to develop a sense of responsibility that is often positioned as a core element of mothering.’ The discussion of these four views on men’s and women’s preferences on the gender division of labour enhances the awareness that different women and men may prefer to play different roles in production activities. Moreover, their preferences on these roles may not be the same in different periods of their life course. The discussion of these four views is useful in assessing the strengths and limitations of the welfare models that guide the government and individuals to organise work and care in responding to diverse preferences on life-​mix. To illustrate this point, we discuss four welfare models –​the male-​breadwinner model, the caregiver parity model, the universal breadwinner model and the universal caregiver model –​in the following paragraphs. The focus on these four models in this part is to a certain extent related to Fraser’s widely quoted study about the universal breadwinner model and the caregiver parity model (Fraser, 1994). Fraser (1994) has examined systematically the strengths and weaknesses of these two models in achieving gender equity. Her work has aroused debates on the relative desirability of the caregiver parity model, the universal breadwinner model and the universal caregiver model (or earner/​carer model) as alternatives to the male-​ breadwinner model in improving women’s and men’s lives (Crompton, 1999; Gornick and Meyers, 2003). Discussing these three models together with the male-​breadwinner model with reference to these four views (sameness, difference, diversity and dynamic views) on men’s and women’s preferences on the gender division of labour can add value to the current debate. As discussed in Chapter 1, the male-​breadwinner model builds on the assumption that men should seek financial resources by participating in the work economy, whereas women should take up most of the care responsibilities in the family (Lewis and Giullari, 2005; Heike, Pollmann-​ Schult and Schmitt, 2015; Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021). The core ideas of this model are not in line with the sameness view, the diversity view and the dynamic view. The male-​breadwinner model does not give sufficient attention to three possibilities, namely: • some men may prefer a caring life; • some women may prefer a working life; 29

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

• some women/​m en may change their life-​m ix preferences under different circumstances. The caregiver parity model maintains traditional gender roles but values them equally (Crompton, 1999; Ciccia and Verloo, 2012). It builds on the assumption that women remain responsible for childcare but the government recognises the value of their unpaid work through the provision of generous care allowances and other benefits. The core ideas of this model are in line with the difference view on the ways that women and men divide their labour in the family and work economy. However, they are not in line with the diversity view and the dynamic view. This model does not pay sufficient attention to the following three possibilities: • some men may prefer a caring life; • some women may prefer a working life; • some women/​m en may change their life-​m ix preferences under different circumstances. The universal breadwinner model stresses that men and women should both take an active part in the labour market (Fraser, 1994; Ciccia and Verloo, 2012). The core ideas of this model are not in line with the difference view, the diverse view and the dynamic view. The model does not pay sufficient attention to the three possibilities, namely: • some men may prefer a caring life to a working life; • some women may prefer a caring life to a working life; • some women/​m en may change their life-​m ix preferences under different circumstances. The universal caregiver model (or earner/​carer model) envisions a social and economic arrangement in which men and women engage symmetrically in both paid work and unpaid caregiving in the family (Fraser, 1994; Gornick and Meyers, 2003; Ciccia and Verloo, 2012; Ciccia and Bleijenbergh, 2014). The core ideas of this model are not in line with the difference view, the diversity view and the dynamic view. This model does not pay sufficient attention to the following four possibilities: • • • •

men and women may have different life-​mix preferences; there may be differences in life-​mix preferences between men; there may be differences in life-​mix preferences between women; women/​men may change their life-​mix preferences under different circumstances.

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Table 2.1 shows the focuses and areas of oversight of these four models. It is necessary to point out that examining whether or not people’s diverse life-​mix preferences are effectively met is not the only way to examine the merits and demerits of the four models. A number of women’s studies stress the importance of gender equity as an important social goal (Fraser, 1994; Jenson, 2009; Saxonberg, 2013; Saxonberg and Szelewa, 2021). If we use gender equity as an assessment criterion, the universal caregiver model is likely to be seen as a much more advanced model than the other three models. As highlighted by Fraser (1994, p 611), the universal breadwinner model can ‘make women more like men’ and the caregiver parity model leaves ‘men and women pretty much unchanged’, while making ‘women’s difference costless’. However, unlike these two models, the universal caregiver model can make men ‘become more like most women’. Since men and women are supposed to engage equally in work and care (Ciccia and Verloo, 2012), it is reasonable for Fraser (1994, p 611) to argue that the implementation of

Table 2.1: Focuses and areas of oversight of the four models Life-​mix Recognised possibilities

Overlooked

Models of gender division of labour

Male-​breadwinner model

• Men prefer a working life • Women prefer a caring life

• Some men prefer a caring life • Some women prefer a working life • Women and men may change their life-​mix preferences from time to time

Caregiver parity model

• Women prefer a caring life • Men prefer a working life

• Some men prefer a caring life • Some women prefer a working life • Women and men may change their life-​mix preferences from time to time

Universal breadwinner • Both men and women prefer • Some men prefer a caring life model a working life • Some women prefer a caring life • Women and men change their life-​ mix preferences from time to time Universal caregiver model

• Some men prefer a working life • Some men prefer a caring life • Some women prefer a caring life • Some women prefer a working life

31

• Men and women can have different life-​mix preferences • There are differences in life-​mix preferences between men • There are differences in life-​mix preferences between women • Women and men change their life-​ mix preferences from time to time

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

such a model ‘would promote gender equity by dismantling the gendered opposition between breadwinning and caregiving’. With the emphasis on the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix, our assessment of the four models focuses on whether and how the implementation of these four models can increase people’s autonomy in organising their working lives and their caring lives. This means that the life-​mix framework aligns more with the core idea of the capability approach –​that is, to find ways to enhance individuals’ freedom to choose and be what they value. We do not reject the idea of eliminating the division of labour between men and women but disagree that this is the ultimate goal of the welfare policies concerned.

Commodification, decommodification, familisation and defamilisation risks This section discusses four welfare risks that associate with four concepts –​namely, commodification, decommodification, familisation and defamilisation. The discussion is indebted to Esping-​Andersen’s idea of decommodification in his thesis of the Three Worlds of Capitalism (1990) and some related studies, including Chau et al, 2017a; Lister, 1994; Leitner, 2003; Kroger, 2011; Kilkey and Merla, 2014; Lohmann and Zagel, 2016; Mathieu, 2016; Poesta and Marzadro, 2017; Israel and Spannagel, 2019. Esping-​Andersen (1990) categorised 18 OECD countries into ‘three worlds of welfare capitalism’ based predominantly on the concept of labour decommodification, which has commonly been understood as the extent to which individuals can maintain a socially acceptable standard of living regardless of their labour market performances (Powell and Barrientos, 2011). The discussion of labour decommodification raises concerns that individuals’ well-​being will be put at risk if they have no choice but to sell their labour in the paid labour market irrespective of the working conditions or their preferences (Kroger, 2011). For example, if people cannot receive any support from the family or the state, they may need to accept any job in the paid labour market, even at low pay or in poor working conditions. In order to protect individuals against this ‘decommodification risk’ (that is, the risk for individuals to fail to achieve a reasonable standard of living because of their non-​participation or limited participation in the paid labour market), it is necessary to enhance their freedom to decide whether or not to sell their labour through the provision of welfare as a kind of social right (Bambra, 2004). Esping-​Andersen (1990) has famously been criticised for being insensitive to the risk faced by women in dealing with family issues (Kilkey and Merla, 2014). To many women, it is not dependency on the labour market but the unequal gender division of unpaid responsibilities that undermine their 32

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welfare (Bambra, 2007). Such an unequal gender division of labour also limits women’s choices and possibilities to develop their career (Kroger, 2011; Chau, Foster and Yu, 2016). Therefore, only supporting women to lead a decommodified life may not necessarily be enough to meet women’s diverse preferences on how to organise their lives. In response to Esping-​Andersen’s work (1990), Lister (1994, p 37) presented her widely discussed view on the concept of labour decommodification and defamilisation: The dimension of decommodification needs also to be complemented by that of what we might call ‘defamilisation’, if it is to provide a rounded measure of economic independence. Welfare regimes might then also be characterised according to the degree to which individual adults can uphold a socially acceptable standard of living, independently of family relationships. Lister’s ideas of defamilisation provide insights into the discussion of the defamilisation and familisation risks. These ideas imply that the opportunity to secure a socially acceptable standard of living and the freedom to choose not to participate in the family relationship are two essential elements of women’s welfare. Defamilisation risk can be understood as a lack of sufficient opportunities to choose not to perform a particular role (such as the role of care provider) in the family and/​or maintain a socially acceptable standard of living. For example, women who have little employment skills and/​or chance to get a job (due to various reasons such as discrimination and cultural reasons) may have to rely financially on their male family members and as a result have no choice but to perform the role of the main care provider in the family (Chau et al, 2017b). Another example is women who have the skills and the willingness to secure a reasonable standard of living through taking up paid work but fail to do so because they are required to look after their family members as full-​time family care providers (Chau et al, 2017c). It is important to note that the second example also shows that defamilisation risk can be closely related to commodification risk, which can be seen as the risk of not being able to take part in the work economy and achieving a reasonable standard of living. We should not rule out the possibility that some women prefer to organise their lives with substantial involvement in family relationships. This means we should not overlook the interests of those women who wish to anchor their lives in financial and caring relationships in the family (Keck and Saraceno, 2012; Lohmann and Zagel, 2016). The discussion of this possibility provides the insights into the study of the familisation risk, which can be understood as a lack of sufficient opportunities for people to choose to perform a particular role in the family, and to maintain a socially acceptable standard of living at 33

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

the same time. One example of the familisation risk is that some women want to perform the role of a full-​time family care provider but fail to do so because they are required to take part in the paid labour market to maintain sufficient income for the family. Another example of the familisation risk is that some women can play the role of a full-​time family care provider as they wish but they have to live in poverty. So far, four welfare risks have been presented. The discussion of these risks raises concerns about two kinds of deprivations that hinder people from meeting their life-​mix preferences –​ relational deprivation and material deprivation. As discussed in Chapter 1, relational deprivation can be caused by involuntary participation in unwanted social relationships (for example, market relationships and family relationships) and/​or a lack of sufficient opportunities to participate in the social relationships that people want. Material deprivation is concerned with a lack of sufficient resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. The commodification and familisation risks represent the potential difficulties for people in entering the relationships they prefer (in the paid labour market and the family, respectively) in order to avoid material deprivation. The decommodification and defamilisation risks suggest that people could end up in unwanted relationships (in the paid labour market and the family, respectively) –​ otherwise, they would face material deprivation. In the life-​mix framework, these four risks are taken into consideration. It is also important to note that some people may have no choice but to stay in an unwanted relationship (in the paid labour market or the family) to play an unwanted role (worker or family carer), and yet there is no guarantee for a reasonable standard of living. One example is the working poor. Some of them may want to be full-​time carers at home but they have to work in the labour market, even at a very low wage that fails to give them a reasonable standard of living. Similarly, some full-​time family carers give up their preference of becoming paid workers but cannot secure a reasonable standard of living at home because there are not enough financial resources in the family or they do not have the access to such resources. In these cases, people could suffer from both material and relational deprivation.

Productive dimensions of government welfare policies In Chapter 1, we pointed out that productive welfare has been regarded as a feature of East Asian welfare regimes (Holliday, 2000; Gough, 2004). In recent years, more and more analysts have argued that the productive dimensions are as important as the protective dimensions of welfare policies in both East Asia and the West (Lee and Ku, 2007; Hudson and Kühner, 2009; Cook, 2018; Deeming and Smyth, 2018; Midgley, 2018). In this section, this point is illustrated with two recent concepts which have attracted much 34

The life-mix framework

attention in both the academic and policy community in non-​East Asian countries –​these are social investment and inclusive growth (Cantillon and Lancker, 2013; Hemerijck, 2018; Elson and Seth, 2019). Social investment Since the end of the 1990s, social investment has been promoted as a new paradigm in academic and political discourse (Bothfeld and Rouault, 2015). The social investment approach to social policy stresses the importance of supporting people to attend educational programmes, to engage in the labour force and to end intergenerational transfer of poverty (Bothfeld and Rouault, 2015; Parolin and Lancker, 2021). Social investment ideas are commonly seen as the driving force behind the EU’s attempt to turn Europe into a competitive economy (Hemerijck, 2018; Kvist, 2018). In the Social Investment Package for Growth and Social Cohesion document, the EC (2013a) urged EU member states to improve the post-​crisis welfare reform strategies that assist individuals, families and societies to respond to the changing nature of social risks in advanced economies –​by investing in human capabilities in different life stages, rather than implementing policies that only ‘repair’ social misfortune arising from economic and personal crises. These ideas suggest that through targeted investment in human capital, there should be a shift of emphasis from traditional passive welfare policies focusing on income maintenance to active welfare measures focusing on exploring economic opportunities and prospects (Nolan, 2013; Parolin and Lancker, 2021). Following this logic, social policy should function as a trampoline instead of a safety net, and welfare states should play the role of an investor rather than a nurse (Morel, Palier and Palme, 2012). The ideas of social investment attract attention from policy makers and academics because they have the potential to bring benefits to people who wish to work and reduce the number of welfare beneficiaries. Putting these ideas into practice is commonly understood as making investments in human capital and promoting participation in formal employment (Hemerijck, 2015). Increasing women’s employment is commonly seen as a significant part of social investment. To do so, governments are advised to make use of their policy measures to carry out three interrelated functions (Hemerijck, 2015 and 2018): • easing the ‘flow’ of contemporary labour market and life course transition; • raising and upkeeping the quality of the ‘stock’ of human capital and capabilities; • maintaining strong minimum-​income, universal safety net ‘buffers’ for micro-​level income protection and macroeconomic stabilisation in support of high employment levels in ageing societies. 35

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

In view of these three functions, it can be said that social investment measures carried out by governments have the potential to assist women to deal with commodification risks and defamilisation risks. This is because, with the aid of government measures, some women may be able to gain a job with reasonable pay, and as a result, they can choose to secure a socially acceptable standard of living independent of family relationships. However, social investment ideas are not necessarily beneficial to all women. Social investment ideas are criticised for failing to address gender equity sufficiently. Jenson (2009, p 467) points out ‘Declining attention to equality of condition or even equal opportunities for women and men is a hallmark of the social investment perspective’. Despite the emphasis of social investment policies on providing more opportunities for women to receive education and take part in the job markets in advanced societies, unpaid care work still lies primarily within the responsibility of women (Garritzmann and Schwander, 2021). Some analysts make the criticism that the discussion of social investment ideas focuses too much on promoting the interests of those women who want to take part in the work economy at the expense of others (Saraceno, 2015). For example, Saraceno (2015, p 263) argues this: ‘Unpaid family care is treated not as an individually and socially meaningful activity but, rather, as a necessity that cannot be avoided if the society wants to maintain an adequate level of fertility and at the same time have more women in the labour force’. The government’s attempt to attach much more importance to paid work than to unpaid family care is reflected in the design of important social policies such as parental leave policies. In relation to this point, Saraceno (2015, p 261) makes a very important argument: The availability of parental leaves for fathers, rather than an acknowledgement of their right to family life and time, appears as instrumental to freeing mothers from part of their caring duties, so that they can return earlier to work. … The idea of the right to care for both men and women, fathers and mothers, which had to a large degree inspired the extension of fathers to the right to parental leave, risks being overshadowed by employment first imperative and by a narrow construction of work–​family conciliating policies as purely instrumental –​to push or pull more women into the labour force, while not discouraging fertility. In view of this quote, it is not surprising that Saraceno (2015) opines that family policies have been increasingly framed as labour market policies from the social investment perspective. So it is important to question whether the discussion of social investment ideas gives as much recognition of the role of informal care providers played by most women in the family in their role as a worker in formal employment. 36

The life-mix framework

As discussed in the previous sections, both the activities that transform the factors of production into goods or services and those that make the factors of production available are essential parts of production. Moreover, it is necessary to avoid ruling out the possibility that some adults prefer to contribute to production activities by ensuring a steady supply of labour through providing informal care in their families. Furthermore, some argue that only helping women to enter the paid labour force may bring negative consequences such as driving wages down and trap women in a double work day (performing domestic labour and doing a low-​paid job) (Mckeen, 1994). In response to these problems, governments should give women sufficient support for organising their caring lives as a kind of social investment. Thus, the interpretation of social investment should be broadened to cover both the pro-​work version and the pro-​care version: ‘pro-​work social investment’ sees people as an important source of human resources and stresses that governments should create favourable conditions for people to take part in paid work; ‘pro-​care social investment’ emphasises that the provision of informal care is an important means for ensuring a steady supply of quality labour and an important part of people’s adult lives. For enhancing the quality and quantity of human resources, and for providing women with the opportunity to decide whether to attach to a working life or a caring life, governments should give support to those who prefer to attach to a caring life. With such support, women can always maintain a reasonable standard of living either as workers or carers, or in transitions between the two. Hence, it is reasonable to suggest that the discussion of the ‘flow’, ‘stock’ and ‘buffer’ functions should be extended to the search for ways of supporting informal care providers to handle potential life-​mix challenges. Six positive welfare outcomes promoted by the pro-​work and pro-​care social investment policy strategies on productivism can be identified: • social investment (flow) for workers: people receive sufficient support to maintain a reasonable standard of living when they change their role from being a worker to being an informal family care provider; • social investment (flow) for informal care providers: people receive sufficient support to maintain a reasonable standard of living when they change their role from being an informal family care provider to being a worker; • social investment (stock) for workers: people are prepared to take part in the work economy through vocational training and other forms of career support; • social investment (stock) for informal care providers: people are prepared to play the role of informal family care providers through carer training (such as parenting and grandparenting) and other forms of support for carers; 37

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

• social investment (buffer) for workers: people receive financial protection after losing their jobs and incomes; • social investment (buffer) for informal care providers: people receive financial protection after losing the opportunity to play the role of informal care providers and as a result lose the usual financial support. In the life-​mix framework, we point out that people may prefer different life-​mix patterns and such patterns or preferences may change under different circumstances. If governments take both work and care as important production activities, they would provide social investment measures to support both workers and carers during their transition from one role to another (flow), when preparing to take up a new role (stock) and when losing financial protection due to changing circumstances (buffer). Inclusive growth Increasing interest in the productive dimension of welfare is also reflected in the emerging idea of inclusive growth. This concept is commonly understood as about how to make the fruits of economic growth more equitably shared. Nonetheless, there is a lack of consensus on its core elements. Different studies of inclusive growth have different foci –​some are concerned about the input side, whereas others are concerned about the output side of inclusive growth; some are concerned about the welfare of workers, whereas others are concerned about the welfare of informal care providers (Cook, 2018; Deeming and Smyth, 2018; Elson and Seth, 2019). In discussing the concept of inclusive growth, some organisations stress the importance of promoting greater equality of opportunity. For example, the WB (2016) sees inclusiveness as an equality of opportunities in terms of access to markets, resources and unbiased regulatory environments for businesses and individuals. Other organisations are more concerned about whether and how the outcome of growth can be more equally shared (Oxfam, 2017; Cook, 2018). For example, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, Humanity divided: confronting inequality in developing countries, emphasises that the growth model can be modified through redistributive policies such as public services and social protection (UNDP, 2015). The view of the UNDP report on inclusive growth receives support from analysts. Elson and Fontana (2019, p 26) emphasise three routes to promoting inclusive growth: The pattern of growth must be shifted so as to increase the incomes of low-​income households more than the average; measures to redistribute income via social protection and consumer subsidies must 38

The life-mix framework

be introduced; and opportunities for low income households and disadvantaged groups to access employment and income generation must be expanded. In discussing inclusive growth, some organisations focus on exploring ways to improve the lives of workers. For example, the EC (2010) suggests empowering people through high levels of employment, investment in skills and modernising the social protection systems. These suggestions show the importance of preparing people to take part in formal employment and ensuring that they enjoy the outcome of the growth. In relation to this point, Ali (2007, p 11) argues this: ‘Whether growth is inclusive depends on the contribution of increasing average opportunities in society with distribution of opportunities constant, and the contribution of changes in distribution when average opportunities do not change. As long as the combined effect is positive, growth would be inclusive.’ Other analysts and organisations have a wider concern about people’s welfare. They see the discussion of inclusive growth as an opportunity for rethinking the relationship between social and economic policies in development (Oxfam, 2017; Cook, 2018). Instead of stressing employment as the only means for promoting inclusion, they offer more radical suggestions on how work, care and welfare should be organised. For this reason, they want to see that the discussion of inclusive growth can improve not only people’s working lives but also their caring lives. For example, the ILO (2018) advocates the rights of both care providers and workers. Elson and Seth (2019, p 38) emphasise that ‘prosperity may mean both having time free from care, but also time free to care’. This means both workers and care providers (in the formal and informal sectors) should be assisted to participate in the growth process and share the fruits of that growth. In relation to different interpretations of inclusive growth, two types of policy strategies for promoting the productive dimension of welfare are identified: pro-​work and pro-​care. Pro-​work policy strategies target adult workers. To secure their inclusion into society from both input and output sides, governments should give adults the opportunity to take part in formal employment and should make work pay. The second kind of policy strategy stresses that informal care providers are as important as workers. To ensure that these care providers can benefit from economic growth, governments should not only offer them the opportunity to provide informal care in their family full time but also assist them to access the benefits of economic growth by guaranteeing them a reasonable standard of living. If a government implements both of these policies, four kinds of positive welfare outcomes can be achieved: • inclusive growth (input) for workers: people are given the opportunity to take part in the work economy as a worker; 39

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

• inclusive growth (input) for informal care providers: people are given the opportunity to provide informal care in the family; • inclusive growth (output) for workers: workers are given the opportunity to share the fruit of economic growth; • inclusive growth (output) for informal care providers: informal care providers are given the opportunity to share the fruit of economic growth. In Chapter 1, we introduced the idea of protected autonomy in life-​mix. This is a belief that no matter whether people choose to be workers or carers, such autonomy should be protected and not threatened by potential material deprivation. The idea of inclusive growth serves as a reminder that both workers and carers are equally important in promoting growth. Therefore, both should be given the opportunities to contribute in the labour market or in the family (input), and both should have the opportunities to share the fruit of the growth (output).

The two confucian ideal societies The search for ways to enable people to organise a decent working and caring life is associated with the search for ways to build an ideal society. This point is supported by the discussion of how to respond to the two ideal societies in ancient China: the ‘commonwealth’ and the ‘better-​off society’, which are recorded in the Book of Rites (Li Yun), one of the Confucian classic texts.1 The commonwealth Lin and Liao describe the commonwealth like this: The world becomes a commonwealth: people of talent and virtue are selected; and mutual confidence and harmony prevail. Then people not only love their own parents and care for their own children but also those of others. The aged can enjoy their old age: the youth can be fully employed; the juniors respect their elders; widows, orphans, and handicapped [people] are well cared for. (Quote from Chung and Haynes, 1993, p 38) This quote suggests that the commonwealth provides the basis for collective actions for supporting people to organise their lives free from the constraints of a particular model of work and care (such as the male-​breadwinner model). Given that ‘people of talents and virtue are selected’, and ‘the youth can be fully employed’, people are not necessarily required to stay at home solely responsible for providing informal care; nor are they expected to take part in work only. In fact, in agricultural societies such as ancient China, most 40

The life-mix framework

women worked side by side with men in the field. Given that ‘people not only love their own parents and care for their own children but also those of others’, care is not merely the responsibility of individual households in their private domain. People’s caring needs can be met collectively. Both men and women can play a role in meeting these needs within and outside their families. The inclusively productive society suggested in this book is to a certain extent indebted to the ideas of the commonwealth. As discussed in Chapter 1, this ideal society stresses the importance of giving all adults in society the opportunity to choose to work or to provide informal care in the family. To achieve this goal, collective actions (such as government provision) play an essential part. The better-​off society However, there is no guarantee that the ideas of the commonwealth can be fully realised in the short term. Hence, there is a suggestion for building a temporary alternative based on private property. Against this background, the better-​off society was proposed. This ideal society has the following characteristics: and all under heaven is as family. … Each loves only his parents and cares only for his own children. Wealth and strength they consider to exist only for their own advantage. … As for the rites and duties, they think them the main structures by which to rectify relations between ruler and subject … between father and son … between elder and younger sibling … between husband and wife. By them, they set up institutions and measures … they lay out fields and hamlets … they judge men of courage and understanding to be worthy … they consider merit to accrue to men’s personal advantage. (Quote from Boer, 2020, pp 196–​7) This quote implies that the better-​off society stresses that people should organise their lives centred on the family. Moreover, people are expected to perform their roles in the family and in the society in certain ways. The gender division between the husband and wife is more rigid than that advocated in the commonwealth. Inspired by the ideas of the two ideal societies in ancient China, this book explores how to increase people’s chances of meeting their life-​mix preferences by using the ‘not-​yet’ approach to build an inclusively productive society. As with the ways that other researchers respond to ‘the good society’ (Boxall, Nyanjom and Slaven, 2018), this approach stresses that although an inclusively productive society may not be achievable within a foreseeable future due to the unavailability of supportive social and economic 41

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

conditions, one should not see this as utterly impracticable. While putting this ideal society into practice as a ‘remote future goal’, attention can be put on reviewing the elements of an inclusively productive society that have been achieved in the past and developing new policies on productivism for achieving a ‘near-​future goal’. This goal is concerned with the search for ways for creating more favourable conditions for achieving more elements of the inclusively productive society such as some people’s diverse life-​mix preferences in important policy domains. To draw attention to changes in these favourable conditions, the life-​mix framework developed for this book shows the link between policy measures, life-​mix tactics and policy strategies on productivism. As shown in Chapters 4, 5 and 6, any adjustment in policy measures in a particular field (such as childcare leave, ECEC, pensions and ALMPs) may serve to contribute to the development of some life-​mix tactics and thus policy strategies on productivism. This in turn makes the society more sensitive to people’s diverse life-​mix preferences.

Six welfare views The previous discussion in this chapter shows that there has been a vibrant debate on issues relating to the working and caring lives of men and women. By reviewing the welfare concepts from different perspectives and expanding some of them with the consideration of both work and care, we draw up six views that are essential for the life-​mix framework. The first view is that equal support should be given to those people who wish to take part in formal employment as a worker and those who wish to provide informal care in the family. As mentioned earlier, there are two types of production activity (work and care) and correspondingly two possible interpretations of productivism –​pro-​work and pro-​care. Both the attempts to support people to organise a working life and to support people to organise a caring life can have positive effects on productivism. The second view is that it is necessary to explore ways to strengthen both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. As discussed earlier, there are four main models in existing literature on the male’s and female’s roles on the gender division of labour in the work economy and the family. These are the male-​breadwinner model, the universal breadwinner model, the caregiver parity model and the universal caregiver model. These models inspire the development of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model in the life-​mix framework. Instead of supporting one of these four models, the framework emphasises that men and women may have different life-​mix preferences and these preferences may change over time. By adding the diversity and dynamic views, the framework contributes to widening the scope of welfare policies and enabling them to accommodate more life-​mix preferences, such as: 42

The life-mix framework

• some women may prefer a working life, whereas other women may prefer a caring life; • some men may prefer a working life, whereas other men may prefer a caring life; • both men and women may change their preferences for a working or caring life under different circumstances at different periods of their life course. The third view is about the importance of promoting the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. In Chapter 1, we discussed people’s potential vulnerability to material and relational deprivation. As discussed earlier, these two types of deprivation can be manifested in four welfare risks (decommodification, commodification, defamilisation and familisation). It is important to note that protected autonomy in life-​mix is part and parcel of the ideal of an inclusively productive society. Putting the ideas of protected autonomy in life-​mix into practice can create more favourable conditions for building this ideal society. Furthermore, through promoting this welfare principle, people’s vulnerability to the life-​mix challenges (life-​mix relational constraints, life-​mix material gaps and user deficit) can be reduced. The fourth view is that people should be more aware of the positive and negative impacts of government intervention on people’s opportunities of meeting their diverse life-​mix preferences. In view of the study of inclusive growth and social investment, governments can play an important role in supporting people to take part in the working and caring life. However, there is no guarantee that governments would commit themselves to this role. It is possible that some governments only carry out the pro-​work investment policy strategies and the pro-​work inclusive growth policy strategies. In this case, the interests of those who prefer to take part in a caring life could be overlooked. So it is important to develop social investment measures to promote both work and care in all three dimensions (flow, stock and buffer). Equally, in considering inclusive growth, the interests of both workers and care providers from both the input and output sides should be taken into consideration. In understanding the impacts of the policy strategy on productivism carried out by governments on people’s opportunities of meeting their life-​mix preferences, a systematic investigation from both the pro-​work and pro-​care perspectives is crucial. The fifth view is that people’s potential to organise their working lives and caring lives should be recognised and respected. As mentioned earlier, this can reinforce the core ideas of the capability approach (freedom of individuals to choose and being what they value should be recognised and respected). This would reduce the chance that people are involuntarily excluded from some production activities or involuntarily included in some production activities, or both, as discussed in the section on social exclusion. 43

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 2.2: Analytical tasks corresponding to the six welfare views Tasks

Welfare views

One: To study people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix

• Equal support to people who wish to take part in formal employment as a worker and those who wish to provide informal care in the family • Recognition and respect for people’s potential in organising their working and caring lives

Two: To study the importance of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model in guiding the government’s and individuals’ organised actions

• The importance of exploring ways to enhance both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model

Three: To explore whether the East Asian countries and territories have their unique ways of upholding the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model

• The importance of exploring ways to enhance both the supported adult worker model and the supported carer model

Four: To study the policies on productivism implemented by governments in important policy domains

• The need to enhance awareness of the positive and negative implications of the government intervention on people’s chances of meeting their diverse life-​mix preferences

Five: • The importance of finding ways to promote To examine whether government the welfare principle of protected autonomy in policies bring positive outcomes such life-​mix as upholding the welfare principle of • The need to explore both the feasibility and protected autonomy in life-​mix and desirability of building an inclusively productive creating favourable conditions for society building an inclusively productive society Six: To make suggestions concerning how to use national and international policies to enhance protected autonomy in life-​ mix and build an inclusively productive society

• The importance of finding ways to promote the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix • The need to explore both the feasibility and desirability of building an inclusively productive society

Seven: To demonstrate how the discussions of important welfare ideas can be used to support protected autonomy in life-​mix

• The importance of finding ways to promote the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix

The sixth view is that both the feasibility and desirability of building an inclusively productive society should be explored. The desirability of building this ideal society is related to the desirable welfare outcomes a society can bring. The feasibility of building this ideal society concerns the creation of more favourable conditions for developing this ideal society, and defending the groundwork that has already been achieved. 44

The life-mix framework

These six views can be seen as the theoretical foundation of the life-​ mix framework. This is because these views provide the justifications for carrying out seven analytical tasks based on the life-​mix framework. The implementation of these analytical tasks can bring the core ideas of the life-​ mix framework into practice and meet the objectives of this book. These analytical tasks are shown in Table 2.2.

45

3

East Asian welfare regimes Introduction The objective of this chapter is to use the male-​breadwinner model, the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model to study the uniqueness of East Asian welfare regimes. To achieve this objective, we carry out three analytical tasks. The first is to show how the three models link to the two widely discussed perspectives on East Asian welfare regimes: the culturalist and the productivist (see Chapter 1). The second is to explore the significance of the three models. The last is to draw lessons from the discussion for the study of welfare issues.

The culturalist perspective The culturalist perspective emphasises that welfare in East Asian countries is organised on the basis of cultural ideas. A widely cited example of a study of the East Asian welfare regimes from this perspective is Jones’ (1993) investigation of the issue of whether East Asian countries might fit into Esping-​Andersen’s typology. According to her, as most of the East Asian countries share the Confucian heritage, they are outside the ‘three worlds of welfare capitalism’. She points out that this Confucian category has these elements: ‘Conservative corporatism without (Western-​style) worker participation; subsidiarity without the Church; solidarity without equality; laissez faire without libertarianism: an alternative expression for all this might be household economy; welfare states –​run in the style of a would-​be traditional, Confucian, extended family’ (Jones, 1993, p 214). Jones’ ideas receive support from other scholars (for example, Rieger and Leibfried, 2003; Karim, Eikemo and Bambra, 2010; Leung and Chan, 2012). Karim, Eikemo and Bambra (2010) point out that East Asian countries with Confucian roots share the characteristics of low levels of government intervention, underdeveloped public service provision and the fundamental importance of the family. Rieger and Leibfried (2003) see Confucian principles as the distinctive rationale behind East Asian welfare development, and in relation to welfare provision, they highlight the significance of kinship ties and the importance of the family. Leung and Chan (2012) observe that East Asian welfare systems are largely influenced by Confucian culture, which stresses a central role played by individual families in the provision of care. 46

East Asian welfare regimes

In traditional Chinese societies, Confucian scholars presented cultural ideas to guide the division of care responsibilities between men and women (Chau and Yu, 1997; Won and Pascall, 2004; Koh, 2008). Examples of these ideas are the principles of ‘Three Types of Obedience’ and ‘Four Virtues’, which are respectively recorded in the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial and in the Rites of Zhou (Steele, 1966; Chau and Yu, 1997). Chu (1995, p 94) summarised them as follows: The obedience of a girl to her father, a married woman to her husband after marriage, a widow to her son after the death of her husband (Three Types of Obedience). To perform the appropriate behaviour conforming to the ethical code, to be careful in her speech with no-​nonsense comments, a pleasant appearance to please her husband, and to be diligent in the management of domestic duties (Four Virtues). The core ideas of the principles of Three Types of Obedience and Four Virtues are well in line with the core ideas of the male-​breadwinner model. They can be used as an instrument to encourage women to play the role of main care providers in the family and rely on the financial support from their male family members for maintaining a reasonable standard of living (Walker and Wong, 2005; Won and Pascall, 2004; Chau and Yu, 2005). If most people organise their lives based on these principles, it can be said that the male-​breadwinner model plays an important role in East Asian welfare systems and in influencing East Asians’ everyday lives. This in turn confirms the value of the culturalist perspective in studying East Asian welfare regimes. However, the influence of the male-​breadwinner model in East Asia should not be taken for granted. East Asian countries compete with other capitalist countries in the global economy. They are at the same time facing similar challenges. These challenges include the increasing flexibility of the labour market, growing financialisation of people’s lives and fluctuating costs of consumption goods (Peng and Wong, 2008; Won and Pascall, 2004; Lee, To and Yu, 2014). These challenges, together with the democratisation in some locations such as South Korea and Taiwan (Croissant, 2010; Kim and Shi, 2013), have important impacts on the division of labour between men and women in the family and in work, and make it more costly to look after dependents in East Asia (Sung, 2003; Schoppa, 2020). To investigate whether the male-​breadwinner model is an influential model in East Asia, it is necessary to examine empirical evidence and not rely on general assumptions. Evidence drawn from the comparative data concerning the relative labour participation rate, gender wage gap, fertility rate and people’s attitudes to the gender division of labour in the private and 47

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

public spheres provides a very different picture. The labour participation rate is defined as the labour force divided by the total working-​age population (people aged 15–​64) (OECD, 2020a). The relative labour participation rate is calculated as the differences between the male labour participation rate and the female labour participation rate (OECD, 2020a). The gender wage gap is about the differences between the median earnings of men and women relative to the median earnings of men (OECD, 2020a). The total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-​specific fertility rates of the specified year (OECD, 2020b). People’s views on the gender division of labour in the public and private spheres can be reflected in their attitudes to the allocation of job opportunities and receiving education, and issues concerning income and provision of care. Table 3.1 shows the relative labour participation rates covering 24 countries and territories including Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.1 The four East Asian countries and territories are among those with the highest relative participation rates as compared with the mean of 10.3 per cent –​16.9 per cent for Hong Kong, 13.8 per cent for Japan, 14.3 per cent for Singapore and 18.8 per cent for South Korea. This means that the differences between women’s and men’s labour participation rates are among the biggest. Moreover, these four East Asian countries and territories have a wider gender wage gap than most other countries and territories. As shown in Table 3.2, their scores are higher than the average of 13 per cent –​20 per cent for Hong Kong, 24 per cent for Japan, 16 per cent for Singapore and 34 per cent for South Korea (the biggest gap among the 24 countries and territories). However, this does not necessarily mean that the core ideas of the Three Types of Obedience and Four Virtues and the core ideas of the male-​breadwinner model play a dominant role in shaping people’s lives. In each of these four countries and territories, the female labour participation rate is over 50 per cent –​50.5 per cent for Hong Kong, 72.6 per cent for Japan, 61.6 per cent for Singapore and 60 per cent for South Korea. This might not be expected in places where the principles previously outlined are being applied. It is similarly unlikely in places where the male-​breadwinner model is active. Another piece of evidence throwing doubt on the influence of the male-​ breadwinner model in the four East Asian countries and territories is the relatively low fertility rates in comparison with the others (M =​1.50 births per woman) –​1.07 for Hong Kong, 1.42 for Japan, 1.14 for Singapore and 0.98 for South Korea (the lowest among the 24 countries and territories) (see Table 3.3). This means that many East Asian women do not see giving birth and rearing children as a top priority in their lives. Some analysts have examined the issue of low fertility in East Asian countries and territories and attributed this issue to people’s wishes to meet economic competition and the rise of individualism at the expense of Confucian values (Castro-V ​ azquez, 48

East Asian welfare regimes Table 3.1: Relative labour force participation rate –​2019 (aged 15–​64) Country/​ territory

Labour force participation rate (%)

Relative labour force participation rate

Rank

Men

Rank

Women

Rank

Austria

81.8

10

72.3

13

9.5

14

Belgium

73.1

23

64.9

18

8.2

9

Canada

82.4

8

75.6

8

6.8

6

Denmark

82.0

9

76.0

6

6.0

5

Finland

80.1

12

76.6

5

3.5

2

France

75.3

21

68.2

15

7.1

7

Germany

83.5

6

74.9

9

8.6

12

Greece

76.7

19

60.4

21

16.3

21

Hong Kong

67.4

24

50.5

24

16.9

22

Hungary

80.0

13

65.3

17

14.7

20

Ireland

79.1

15

67.2

16

11.9

16

Italy

75.0

22

56.5

23

18.5

23

Japan

86.4

2

72.6

12

13.8

17

Netherlands

85.1

4

76.7

4

8.4

10

New Zealand

85.2

3

76.8

3

8.4

10

Norway

80.7

11

75.7

7

5.0

3

Poland

77.7

18

63.4

19

14.3

18

Portugal

78.3

17

72.9

11

5.4

4

Singapore

75.4

20

61.1

20

14.3

18

South Korea

78.8

16

60.0

22

18.8

24

Spain

79.9

14

70.1

14

9.8

15

Sweden

84.6

5

81.1

1

3.5

1

Switzerland

88.3

1

80.2

2

8.1

8

8.8

13

UK

83.2

7

74.4

10

Mean

80.0

N/a​

69.7

N/a​

10.3

N/a​

Sources: OECD, 2020a; Census and Statistics Department, 2020a; Department of Statistics, Singapore, 2020 (compiled by the authors).

2017; Economist Intelligence Unit, 2019; Cheng, 2020). These views are backed up by evidence concerning family changes such as a drop in marriage rates and an increase in divorce rates in these countries and territories (Chau and Yu, 2013). East Asian governments are alarmed by the decline in fertility rates. They are keen to tackle this issue. For example, in 2015 the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed, “I want to confront the demographic problem head on and place particular emphasis on policies that will 49

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 3.2: Gender wage gap –​2018 Country/​territory

Gender wage gap (%)

Rank

Austria

15

15

Belgium

4

1

Canada

19

20

5

3

Finland

19

20

France

14

13

Germany

15

15

4

1

20

22

9

8

Ireland

11

11

Italy

6

4

Japan

24

23

Netherlands

14

13

New Zealand

8

7

Norway

6

4

Poland

Denmark

Greece Hong Kong Hungary

10

10

Portugal

9

8

Singapore

16

18

South Korea

34

24

Spain

12

12

7

6

Switzerland

15

15

UK

16

18

Mean

13.0

N/a​

Sweden

Sources: Census and Statistics Department, 2019a; OECD, 2020a; Ministry of Manpower, 2020 (compiled by the authors).

contribute … to raise the birth rate to 1.8 per woman from 1.42 currently”.2 The South Korean government has concern about the phenomenon of the ‘Sampo Generation’, which refers to a generation that gives up courtship, marriage and having children (Kim, 2021). It is important to note that instead of encouraging people to organise their adult lives in conformity to the male-​breadwinner model, East Asian governments focus on creating favourable conditions for people to seek alternative ways of organising their working and caring lives. For example, they encourage men to take up more 50

East Asian welfare regimes Table 3.3: Fertility rate (births per woman) –​2019 Country/​territory

Fertility rate

Rank

Austria

1.47

14

Belgium

1.62

7

Canada

1.49

13

Denmark

1.73

4

Finland

1.41

18

France

1.88

1

Germany

1.57

9

Greece

1.35

19

Hong Kong

1.07

23

Hungary

1.55

11

Ireland

1.75

3

Italy

1.29

20

Japan

1.42

16

Netherlands

1.59

8

New Zealand

1.56

10

Norway

1.71

5

Poland

1.46

15

Portugal

1.42

16

Singapore

1.14

22

South Korea

0.98

24

Spain

1.26

21

Sweden

1.76

2

Switzerland

1.52

12

UK

1.68

6

Mean

1.50

N/a​

Source: WB, 2020 (compiled by the authors)

childcare responsibilities. Both the South Korean and Japanese governments provide generous daddy leave (more details are in Chapter 4). Besides, both governments take actions to challenge the core ideas of the male-​breadwinner model. The Japanese government launched the Ikumen campaign as a way to fight against the stigma related to child-​caring fathers (Vassallo, 2017). The South Korean government has established the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy, stressing the idea that rearing a child is no longer women’s sole responsibility (Cho, 2011). Furthermore, East 51

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

Asian governments are keen to outsource the family responsibilities to other sectors through the provision of public nurseries and subsidising families to use the services provided by private nurseries (Chau and Yu, 2013). Some findings from the World Values Survey (World Values Survey Association, 2020) provide further support to the view that people in countries and territories with Confucian roots (for example, China, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Taiwan) do not necessarily attach more importance to the gendered view on life-​mix than their counterparts in places not as much influenced by Confucian values:3 • More than 70 per cent of respondents in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau and Taiwan strongly disagreed or disagreed with the statement that ‘A university education is more important for a boy than for a girl’. The scores for these countries are higher than or similar to the average of the 48 countries studied in the survey (73.7 per cent). • In mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau and Taiwan, in response to the statement ‘When jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women’, more people disagreed than agreed. This is in contrast to the average scores for the 48 countries, which showed a higher percentage of people agreeing with this statement. • A higher proportion of respondents in China (61.3 per cent), Taiwan (65.6 per cent) and Hong Kong (44.4 per cent) than the average of the 48 countries and territories (41.1 per cent) strongly disagreed or disagreed with this statement: ‘Problems [could arise] if women have more income than husbands’. • More than half of the respondents in Taiwan (89.3 per cent), Hong Kong (70.7 per cent), Japan (68.5 per cent) and Macau (51.5 per cent) strongly disagreed or disagreed with the statement that ‘When a mother works for pay, the children suffer’. These scores are close to or higher than the average of the 48 countries (51.7 per cent). These findings show that many people in countries and territories with a Confucian root share the idea that a career is as important to women as it is to men. To a certain extent, this can explain why they support the view that women should be given the opportunities to receive university education and take other measures to develop their career. It is important to note that they are also prepared to accept the possibility that a woman may achieve more in her career than a man will.

The productivist perspective The productivist perspective emphasises that welfare measures in East Asian countries and territories are mainly used as an economic instrument to 52

East Asian welfare regimes

enhance the competitiveness of the economy and promote economic growth rather than giving social protection to citizens. The widely quoted example of research based on this perspective is the productivist welfare capitalism thesis (Holliday, 2000). This thesis suggests that East Asian welfare capitalism has two features –​it attaches huge importance to economic growth, and it stresses the subordination of social policy to economic and industrial policy (Kim, 2008; Yu, 2014). Holliday (2000) suggests that the subordination of social policy to other policy objectives should be used as a criterion for identifying worlds within the universe of welfare capitalism. Based on this criterion, five East Asian welfare systems (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan) are seen as the outsiders of Esping-​Andersen’s three worlds of welfare capitalism. In studying social welfare in East Asia, analysts draw attention to the contribution of social welfare to economic development (Wilding, 2000; Gough, 2004; Witvliet et al, 2011; Yang and Kühner, 2020; Wen, Mok and Amoah, 2021). Wilding (2000) highlights that East Asian productivism is concerned with providing flexible labour markets, sufficient labour supply via investment in human capital and skills production, and ensuring social stability. Gough (2004) argues that an important feature of social policy in East Asia is its emphasis on social investment rather than social protection. Gough (2004) also suggests that several countries in East Asia such as Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia can be described as having productivist welfare regimes because they meet four criteria: social policy is subordinated to the dominant economic policy goal of maintaining high rates of economic growth; social policy focuses on social investments; the state is mainly confined to regulation rather than provision; and social policy has largely been driven by the intention of giving legitimacy to the regime. However, the differences between East Asian and non-​East Asian countries and territories in stressing the contribution of social policy to the economy should not be overestimated (Kim, 2008; Hudson et al, 2014; Lin and Chan, 2015; Yu, 2014). This point is succinctly highlighted by Bonoli and Shinkawa (2005, p 21): ‘Welfare states everywhere help improve productivity and contribute to economic growth by facilitating social cohesion and peaceful class relationships. In that sense, all welfare states are productivist.’ It is important to note that there have long been policy transfers between East Asian countries and territories and Western countries. The Hong Kong and Malaysian government developed their health care systems with reference to the Beveridge model, whereas the health care systems in South Korea and Japan are indebted to the ideas of the Bismarck model (Ramesh and Holliday, 2001; Yu, 2006; Peng and Wong, 2008). The Hong Kong government has adopted some ideas of welfare to work measures from the UK (Yu, 2008). Studies show that some East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea have carried out more social care reforms based on the concept of social investments since the 1990s (Peng, 2009; United Nations 53

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

Expert Group Meeting on Policy Responses to Low Fertility, 2015). So it is important to avoid pre-​assuming the significance of productivist welfare in East Asia but not in other regions. It is necessary to stress that the productivist perspective on East Asian welfare regimes links closely to the supported adult worker model. As discussed in Chapter 1, this model emphasises governments’ roles in using welfare measures to support adults to take part in formal employment and contribute to the economy. If the productivist perspective in East Asian welfare regimes is as prominent as discussed in the literature, it is reasonable to believe that the supported adult worker model also has strong influence. To examine if this is the case, we conduct two analytical tasks in the following paragraphs. The first is to compare the commitments made by East Asian and non-​East Asian governments to the provision of welfare policies that are useful in supporting adults to participate in their working lives. Health care and education policies are used as two examples because they are often seen as important means for promoting production. For example, Papadopoulos and Roumpakis (2017) point out that the increased spending on health and education is commonly seen as empirical evidence supporting the productivist argument. The second task is to explore people’s attitudes to work issues, such as whether people have a social duty to perform paid work and they can be considered ‘lazy’ if they do not do so. The study of people’s attitudes to work will help to build a better understanding of how much importance people give to their engagement in paid work in East Asian and non-​East Asian countries and territories. This is done by examining more findings from the World Values Survey (World Values Survey Association, 2020). Health care policies The development of health care policies is often examined with the aid of both the output indicators (life expectancy at birth, infant mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio) and the input indicators (the number of hospital beds and physicians) (UN, 2019; Department of Statistics, Singapore, 2020; HKSAR, 2020a). ‘Life expectancy at birth’ refers to the number of years a newborn infant could expect to live if prevailing patterns of age-​specific mortality rates at the time of birth stay the same throughout the infant’s life (UN, 2019). ‘Infant mortality rate’ refers to the probability of a child born in a specific year or period dying before reaching the age of 1 (per 1,000 live births) (UN, 2019). ‘Maternal mortality ratio’ refers to the number of deaths due to pregnancy-​ related causes per 100,000 live births (UN, 2019). The number of physicians refers to the number of medical doctors, both generalists and specialists,

54

East Asian welfare regimes

expressed per 10,000 people (UN, 2019). The number of hospital beds refers to the number of hospital beds available per 10,000 people (UN, 2019). The performance of health care policies in the four East Asian countries and territories (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea) –​shown by the infant mortality rate, the life expectancy at birth and the maternal mortality ratio –​is impressive. The values for ‘male life expectancy at birth’ and ‘female life expectancy at birth’ in the four East Asian countries and territories are greater than the average values of 79.4 and 83 respectively (see Table 3.4). Hong Kong has the greatest male (82.3 years) and female (88.1 years) life expectancy at birth in the world. In terms of lowest infant mortality rate, Hong Kong and Japan respectively rank first (1.4 per 1,000 live births) and second (1.9 per 1,000 live births) among the 24 countries and territories as compared with the mean of 3.1 (see Table 3.5). In respect of the lowest maternal mortality ratio, Hong Kong ranks first (1.8 deaths per 100,000 live births) and Japan ranks eighth (five deaths) as compared with the average of 6.7 deaths (see Table 3.6). However, there is no clear sign that the health care policies in East Asian countries and territories are more advanced than non-​East Asian countries from their input side. Japan and South Korea have more hospital beds than most of the 24 countries and territories –​134 hospital beds per 10,000 people in Japan (ranking first) and 115 hospital beds per 10,000 people in South Korea (ranking second) as compared with the mean of 51. However, their numbers of physicians are lower than most of the others –​24.1 physicians per 10,000 people in Japan (ranking 20th) and 23.7 physicians per 10,000 people in South Korea (ranking 22nd) as compared with the mean of 35.8. Singapore does not compare favourably with most of the 24 countries and territories in terms of both the number of hospital beds (only 24, ranking 23rd) and the number of physicians (only 23.1, ranking 23rd) (see Table 3.7). Education policies The development of education policies in East Asian and non-​East Asian countries and territories is commonly discussed with reference to three indicators –​‘expected years of schooling’, ‘mean years of schooling’ and ‘proportion of females with at least some secondary education’. The ‘expected years of schooling’ refers to the number of years of schooling that a child of school entrance age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-​specific enrolment rates persist throughout the child’s life (UN, 2019). The ‘mean years of school’ refers to the number of years of schooling that a child of school entrance age can expect to receive if prevailing patterns of age-​specific enrolment rates persist throughout the child’s life (UN, 2019). The ‘proportion of females with at least some secondary education’ refers

55

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 3.4: Life expectancy rate –​2016 Country/​territory

Life expectancy at birth (years) Male

Rank

Female

Rank

Austria

79.4

16

84.2

11

Belgium

78.8

18

83.5

16

Canada

80.9

4

54.7

24

Denmark

79.3

17

83.2

19

Finland

78.7

19

84.2

11

France

80.1

11

85.7

3

Germany

78.7

19

83.3

18

Greece

78.7

19

83.7

15

Hong Kong*

82.3

1

88.1

1

Hungary

72.3

24

79.4

23

Ireland

79.7

13

83.4

17

Italy

80.5

8

84.9

8

Japan

81.1

3

87.1

2

Netherlands

80.0

12

83.2

19

New Zealand

80.5

8

84.0

14

Norway

80.6

6

84.3

10

Poland

73.8

23

81.6

22

Portugal

78.3

22

84.5

9

Singapore

80.8

5

85.0

7

South Korea

79.5

15

85.6

5

Spain

80.3

10

85.7

3

Sweden

80.6

6

84.1

13

Switzerland

81.2

2

85.2

6

UK

79.7

13

83.2

19

Mean

79.4

N/a​

83.0

N/a​

Note: * Data from 2019. Sources: UN, 2019; Department of Health, HKSAR Government, 2020b (compiled by the authors).

to the percentage of the population aged 25 or older that has reached (but not necessarily completed) a secondary level of education (UN, 2019). There is no clear sign that Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea are more committed to the development of education than the others. In terms of expected years of schooling, the mean years of schooling and the proportion of people with at least some secondary education, the scores 56

East Asian welfare regimes Table 3.5: Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) –​2017 Country/​territory

Infant mortality rate

Rank

Austria

2.9

9

Belgium

3.1

12

Canada

4.5

24

Denmark

3.7

17

Finland

1.9

2

France

3.5

16

Germany

3.1

12

Greece

4.3

22

Hong Kong*

1.4

1

Hungary

3.8

20

Ireland

3.0

11

Italy

2.9

9

Japan

1.9

2

Netherlands

3.3

15

New Zealand

4.4

23

Norway

2.1

4

Poland

4.0

21

Portugal

3.1

12

Singapore

2.2

5

South Korea

2.8

8

Spain

2.6

7

Sweden

2.3

6

Switzerland

3.7

17

UK

3.7

17

Mean

3.1

N/a​

Note: * Data from 2019. Sources: World Health Organization (WHO), 2020; Department of Health, HKSAR Government, 2020b (compiled by the authors).

for all four East Asian countries and territories are lower than the average values of the 24 countries and territories in many cases (see Table 3.8). For example, Japan is among those with the least number of years of schooling for both males (15.3 years, ranking 22nd) and females (15.2 years, ranking 24th) as compared with the average values of 16.9 years and 17.5 years respectively. Singapore ranks 18th and 20th in terms of the mean years of schooling for males (12 years) and females (11.1 years) as compared with 57

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 3.6: Maternal mortality ratio –​2015 Country/​territory

Maternal mortality ratio (deaths per 100,000 live births)

Rank

Austria

4

5

Belgium

7

14

Canada

7

14

Denmark

6

12

Finland

3

2

France

8

17

Germany

6

12

Greece

3

2

Hong Kong*

1.8

1

Hungary

17

24

Ireland

8

17

Italy

4

5

Japan

5

8

Netherlands

7

14

New Zealand

11

22

Norway

5

8

Poland

3

2

Portugal

10

20

Singapore

10

20

South Korea

11

22

Spain

5

8

Sweden

4

5

Switzerland

5

8

UK

9

19

Mean

6.7

N/a​

Note: * Data from 2018. Sources: UN, 2019; Department of Health, HKSAR Government, 2020b (compiled by the authors).

the respective mean values of 12.2 years and 11.9 years. Hong Kong has low rankings for the percentage of people aged 25 or above with at least some secondary education –​it ranks 21st for males (82.9 per cent) and 19th for females (76.6 per cent) as compared with the mean values of 88.3 per cent and 85.8 per cent respectively. Japan has a better performance than most of these places in the mean years of schooling for both males and females (12.6 years and 13 years respectively) and the proportion of men with at least 58

East Asian welfare regimes Table 3.7: Number of hospital beds and physicians –​2010–​18* Country/​territory

Hospital beds (per 10,000 people)

Rank

Physicians (per 10,000 people)

Rank

Austria

76

4

51.4

2

Belgium

62

8

33.2

13

Canada

27

20

26.1

19

Denmark

25

22

44.6

5

Finland

44

11

38.1

10

France

65

6

32.3

14

Germany

83

3

42.1

7

Greece

43

12

45.9

4

Hong Kong

N/​a

N/a​

N/​a

N/a​

Hungary

70

5

32.3

14

Ireland

28

17

30.9

16

Italy

34

14

40.9

8

Japan

134

1

24.1

20

47

9

35.1

11

Netherlands New Zealand

28

17

30.3

17

Norway

39

13

46.3

3

Poland

65

6

24.0

21

Portugal

34

14

33.4

12

Singapore

24

23

23.1

23

South Korea

115

2

23.7

22

Spain

30

16

40.7

9

Sweden

26

21

54.0

1

Switzerland

47

9

42.4

6

UK

28

17

28.1

18

Mean

51.0

N/a​

35.8

N/a​

Note: * Data refer to the most recent year available. Source: UN, 2019 (compiled by the authors)

some secondary education (92.2 per cent). However, it does not compare favourably with most of the non-​East Asian countries in other items: the expected years of schooling and the proportion of males and females with at least some secondary education. South Korea outperforms most of the non-​East Asian countries and territories only in the mean years of schooling for males (12.9 years) and the proportion of males (95.6 per cent) with at least some secondary education. 59

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 3.8: Education development –​2010–​18 Country/​ territory

Expected years of schooling (2018) (no. of years)

M

Rank F

Mean years of schooling Proportion of (2018) males and females (no. of years) with at least some secondary education (2010–​18*) (% aged 25 or above) Rank M

Rank F

16.6 14

13.0

Belgium

18.8

20.6

11.9 19

11.6 16

87.1 14

Canada

15.6 20

16.6 14

13.1

3

13.5

2

100

Denmark

18.4

4

19.8 3

12.4 12

12.7

5

Finland

18.5

3

20.1

12.3 13

12.6 8

France

15.2 23

15.8 21

11.6 20

11.2 19

86.3 16

81.0 18

Germany

17.2 11

17.0 13

14.6

13.7

1

96.6 6

96.0

Greece

17.5

8

17.1 12

10.8 21

10.3 21

73.2 23

61.5 23

Hong Kong

16.6 14

16.4 18

12.5

11.6 16

82.9 21

76.6 19

Hungary

14.8 24

15.4 23

12.1 17

11.7 15

98.2 4

96.3

6

Ireland

18.7

2

18.9 6

12.3 13

12.7

5

86.3 16

90.2

9

Italy

15.9 19

16.6 14

10.5 22

10.0 22

83.0 20

75.6 21

Japan

15.3 22

15.2 24

12.6

8

13.0 3

92.2 9

85.2 14

Netherlands

17.8

7

18.3 8

12.5

9

11.9 14

90.1 10

86.6 13

New Zealand 17.9

6

19.7 4

12.8

7

12.6 8

86.6 15

97.2

4

12.5

9

12.6 8

94.8 8

96.1

7

12.3 13

12.3 12

88.1 13

82.9 15

2

7

1 9

100

1 1

89.4 11 100

1

100

Rank

16.0 18

1

12.3 12

Rank F

Austria

1

4

Rank M

1

82.6 17 100

1

89.2 11 100

1 8

Norway

17.4 10

18.8

Poland

15.6 20

17.3 11

Portugal

16.4 15

16.2 19

9.2 24

9.2 24

54.8 24

53.6 24

Singapore

16.1 17

16.5 17

12.0 18

11.1 20

83.3 19

76.3 20

South Korea

16.9 13

15.8 21

12.9

6

11.5 18

95.6

7

89.8 10

Spain

17.5

8

18.2 9

10.0 23

9.7 23

78.4 22

73.3 22

Sweden

18.0

5

19.6

12.3 13

12.5 11

89.0 12

88.8 12

Switzerland

16.3 16

16.1 20

13.6

2

12.7

97.2

96.4

UK

17.1 12

18.0 10

13.0

4

12.9 4

Mean

16.9 N/a​

5

17.5 N/a​ 12.2 N/a​

Note: M refers to Male; F refers to Female. * Data refer to the most recent year available. Source: UN, 2019 (compiled by the authors)

60

5

5

85.7 18

5

82.9 16

11.9 N/a​ 88.3 N/a​ 85.8 N/a​

East Asian welfare regimes

Attitudes to work issues Some of the findings from the World Values Survey (2017–​2020) indicate that people in East Asian countries and territories do not attach more importance to being engaged in paid work than their counterparts in other countries (World Values Survey Association, 2020): • 73.7 per cent of respondents of the 48 countries and territories strongly agreed or agreed with this statement: ‘Work is a duty towards society’. This score is higher than most of the East Asian countries and territories –​ Taiwan (71.3 per cent), Hong Kong (64.6 per cent), Japan (58.1 per cent), South Korea (62.1 per cent) and Macau (57.6 per cent). • 71.4 per cent of respondents of the 48 countries and territories strongly agreed or agreed with this statement: ‘People who don’t work turn lazy’. This score is lower than the scores for China (83.2 per cent), Taiwan (87.8 per cent), Hong Kong (74.4 per cent) and South Korea (73.9 per cent), but higher than the scores for Japan (64.5 per cent) and Macau (65.4 per cent). • 61.4 per cent of respondents of the 48 countries and territories strongly agreed or agreed with this statement: ‘Work should always come first, even if it means less spare time’. This score is higher than all East Asian countries and territories except China (81.3 per cent), Hong Kong (54.6 per cent), Taiwan (48.6 per cent), South Korea (47.4 per cent), Japan (10.1 per cent) and Macau (35.1 per cent). • 49.9 per cent of respondents thought that less importance placed on work is a bad thing. This score is lower than the scores for Taiwan (69.1 per cent), China (60.8 per cent) and Japan (56.6 per cent), but higher than Hong Kong (28.9 per cent), South Korea (36.6 per cent) and Macau (18.1 per cent). A number of respondents in East Asia saw work as an important element of their lives. However, they did not attach as much importance to work as their counterparts in other places. It is also necessary to point out that the views on some work issues were quite diverse among East Asians. For example, 69.1 per cent of respondents in Taiwan thought that less importance placed on work is a bad thing. However, only 28.9 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong shared the same view. In Taiwan, 87.7 per cent of respondents thought that people who do not work turn lazy. However, only 64.5 per cent of people in Japan have the same view.

The supported adult carer model As mentioned in Chapter 1, we are not aware of any attempt that has been made to study the uniqueness of East Asian welfare regimes on the basis of the 61

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

supported adult carer model. The examination of the relevance of this model to how East Asians organise welfare also contributes to the investigation of the applicability of the productivist perspective into the analysis of East Asian welfare regimes. As discussed in Chapter 1, supporting people to provide care can be a way to promote production. Following this logic, it is important to explore the significance of the productivist perspective on East Asian welfare regimes by studying the applicability of not only the supported adult worker model but also the supported adult carer model in these countries and territories. To examine the significance of the supported adult carer model, we discuss three childcare paid leave measures –​maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave. As shown in more detail in Chapter 4, these measures have the potential to serve as government tools to support people to provide informal care in the family. The information about these paid leave measures is shown in Tables 3.9, 3.10 and 3.11. It is reasonable to believe that the supported adult carer model has some influence in shaping people’s participation in production activities. This point is supported by the fact that some East Asian countries and territories provide most of the three paid leave measures. However, the evidence concerning these measures does not support the existence of a unique welfare group in East Asia based on the supported adult carer model. On the one hand, there are similarities between the levels of provision in these countries and territories and some non-​East Asian countries. For example, Hong Kong, Hungary and Italy provide the same length of statutory paternity leave (five days) (Table 3.10). Germany, Japan and Switzerland provide the same length of statutory maternity leave (98 days) (Table 3.9). South Korea’s provision is at a similar level –​that is, 90 days of statutory maternity leave (Table 3.9). On the other hand, there are important differences in the ways that the four East Asian countries and territories (Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea) provide leave benefits. Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea provide paternity leave but there is no statutory paternity leave in Japan (Table 3.10). Singapore provides 112 days of maternity leave compared with only 70 days of statutory maternity leave in Hong Kong (Table 3.9). South Korea offers one year of parental leave for each employed parent, whereas Hong Kong does not provide any and Singapore allows working fathers to share up to four weeks of the mothers’ 16 weeks of government-​ paid maternity leave (Table 3.11). There are two essential conditions for East Asian countries and territories to form the fourth world of welfare capitalism –​their external heterogeneity and internal homogeneity (Yu, 2012). External heterogeneity is concerned with the difference in welfare arrangements between the East Asian countries and territories and the non-​East Asian countries. Internal homogeneity is concerned with the similarity in welfare arrangements 62

East Asian welfare regimes Table 3.9: Maternity leave –​2019–​20 Country/​territory

Maternity leave No. of days

Rank

Austria

112

11

Belgium

105

16

Canada

105

16

Denmark

126

10

Finland

105

16

France

112

11

Germany

98

19

Greece

287

3

70

23

Hungary

168

4

Ireland

294

2

Italy

140

8

Japan

98

19

Netherlands

112

11

New Zealand

154

5

Hong Kong

Norway

154

5

Poland

140

8

Portugal

150

7

Singapore

112

11

South Korea

90

19

Spain

112

11

Sweden

14*

24

Switzerland

98

19

UK

364

1

Mean

138.3

N/a​

Note: *It is obligatory for women to take two weeks’ maternity leave before or after delivery; they can decide whether to take part of the paid parental insurance benefit during this period. Pregnant women can take indefinite leave paid at 77.6 per cent of earnings, if a job is a risk to the foetus and no other work can be made available. If a job is physically demanding and hard for a pregnant woman to perform, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency can grant eligibility of up to 50 days of leave during the last 60 days of pregnancy, paid at 77.6 per cent of income. Sources: Koslowski et al, 2019; Ministry of Manpower, Singapore, 2019a; Labour Department, HKSAR Government, 2020 (compiled by the authors).

63

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 3.10: Paternity leave –​2019 Country/​territory

Paternity leave No. of days

Rank

Austria

91

1

Belgium

10

13

Canada

35*

4

Denmark

14

6

Finland

54

3

France

11

12

Germany

0

22

Greece

2

21

Hong Kong

5

17

Hungary

5

17

14

6

Ireland Italy

5

17

Japan

0

22

Netherlands

7

16

New Zealand

10

13

Norway

14

6

Poland

14

6

Portugal

25

5

Singapore

14

6

South Korea

3

20

Spain

56

2

Sweden

10

13

0

22

Switzerland UK

14

6

Mean

15.6

N/a​

Note: *Canada has no statutory leave except in Quebec (five weeks). Sources: Koslowski et al, 2019; Ministry of Manpower, Singapore, 2019b; Labour Department, HKSAR Government, 2020 (compiled by the authors).

between the East Asian countries and territories. Judging from the discussion mentioned earlier, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea (the four East Asian welfare regimes in the comparison) do not have these essential conditions to form the fourth world of welfare capitalism on the basis of paid leave policies. 64

East Asian welfare regimes Table 3.11: Parental leave –​2019 Country/​territory

Parental leave

Austria

The family is entitled to the leave until the child is 2 years old.

Belgium

Four months per parent.

Canada

Standard option: up to 35 weeks of income replacement per family at the same rate as maternity leave.

Denmark

32 weeks per parent.

Finland

This is a family entitlement –​158 working days.

France

Both parents can take leave until the child is 3 years old.

Germany

Up to three years after childbirth per parent.

Greece

Four months per parent.

Hong Kong

No statutory entitlement.

Hungary

One of the important options is that the family is entitled to the leave from birth until the child’s third birthday.

Ireland

18 weeks per parent.

Italy

Six months per parent.

Japan

Leave can be taken by each parent until their child is 12 months old.

Netherlands

26 times the number of working hours per week per parent.

New Zealand

Parent leave is used as a generic term to cover ‘primary carer’, ‘partner’ and ‘extended leave’; up to 52 weeks may be taken in the 12 months after the birth of the child including any primary carer leave, partner leave and extended leave; the extended leave is a family entitlement.

Norway

46 or 56 weeks (depending on the payments) plus three weeks before the birth of the child.

Poland

32 weeks per family.

Portugal

Each parent is entitled to have three months additional parental leave.

Singapore

No parental leave; a working father can share up to four weeks of the wife’s 16-​week government-​paid maternity leave.

South Korea

One year per parent.

Spain

Each parent is entitled to take leave until three years after childbirth.

Sweden

Each parent is entitled to take full-​time leave from work until their child is 18 months old.

Switzerland

No statutory entitlement.

UK

18 weeks per parent.

Sources: Koslowski et al, 2019; Ministry of Manpower, Singapore, 2019c; Labour Department, HKSAR Government, 2020 (compiled by the authors).

65

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

Implications for the study of welfare issues This chapter explores the use of the male-​breadwinner model, the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model in analysing the uniqueness of the East Asian welfare regimes. The implementation of this analytical task has implications for the study of the welfare models in East Asia, the features of East Asian welfare regimes and life-​mix patterns and preferences in this region. First, all of the three models have a certain degree of relevance to how welfare is organised in East Asian countries and territories. As mentioned earlier, while the relative labour participation rates of the four East Asian countries and territories are higher than the Three Types of Obedience and Four Virtues allow, they are lower than those in most non-​East Asian countries. East Asian governments provide welfare policy measures (such as health care and education) that can improve the conditions for people to take part in formal employment. These governments also make it easier for people to provide informal care in the family, through the implementation of paid leave policies. This confirms that the three models have some relevance to the ways welfare is organised in East Asia. However, it is important to note the evidence that none of the three models provides a solid foundation for the development of a unique welfare regime in East Asia. As mentioned earlier, the four East Asian countries and territories have a low fertility rate. This means that people do not necessarily organise their lives based on the male-​breadwinner model. In relation to the development of policy measures (such as the childcare leave measures, education and health care) to enhance welfare productivism, there is no clear sign that East Asian governments are keener to do so than non-​East Asian governments. In view of the comparative data about education, health care services and childcare leave measures in East Asia and other parts of the world, it is doubtful that East Asian governments are more committed to the development of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model than others. This shows that East Asian governments may not have given sufficient support to people to choose how to organise their caring and working lives. As a result, some people in these countries and territories may be vulnerable to life-​mix challenges. Examples of East Asians’ experiences of these challenges are discussed in Chapter 7. Second, the culturalist and productivist perspectives on East Asian welfare regimes have received much attention from the academic community. As previously mentioned, the culturalist perspective is closely related to the male-​breadwinner model; the productivist perspective is closely related to the two supported adult models. Since all of the three models do not support East Asian countries and territories to develop a unique welfare group, the 66

East Asian welfare regimes

significance of these two perspectives in classifying the East Asian welfare regimes should not be overestimated. Third, East Asian countries and territories provide an important observation ground for studying the concept of life-​mix. In view of the comparative data discussed in this chapter, life-​mix patterns in East Asian countries and territories can be studied in three ways: the first is to study the decisions made by people concerning their participation in the labour market and giving birth to children;4 the second is to examine people’s attitudes to issues of work and care; and the third is to examine government policies for promoting the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. It is important to note that the East Asian countries and territories provide a wide range of cases about the life-​mix patterns studied in these three ways. As shown in Table 3.1, Japan (13.8 per cent) and Singapore (14.3 per cent) have lower relative labour force participation rates than Hong Kong (16.9 per cent) and South Korea (18.8 per cent). There are important differences in the views of people in the East Asian countries and territories on work issues. For example, 54.6 per cent of the respondents in Hong Kong strongly agreed or agreed with the statement ‘Work should always come first, even if it means less spare time’. However, only 10.1 per cent of the respondents in Japan strongly agreed or agreed with this statement. In Taiwan, 69.1 per cent of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed with the statement that less importance placed on work is a bad thing. However, only 28.9 per cent of the respondents in Hong Kong strongly agreed or agreed with this statement. The South Korean and Japanese governments are among those that are highly committed to the provision of parental leave, whereas Hong Kong does not provide any statutory parental leave. Instead of assuming that there is a unique welfare group based on the policies on productivism, the focus should be put on identifying the diverse ways that East Asian governments use life-​mix policies to respond to people’s life-​ mix preferences. By doing so, good practice in using welfare measures to promote productivism may be uncovered for other governments to consider. Certainly, it is not realistic to expect that governments are always willing or able to adopt good policy practices from another. However, the existence of real case studies highlighting good policies on productivism adopted by one or some government(s) is likely to encourage other governments to improve their life-​mix policies. It is equally important to note that the coordination between the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model in important policy domains may serve as a basis for forming welfare clusters by East Asian and non-​East Asian countries and territories. If this is the case, we may have a new way to study the typology of welfare regimes. As shown in Chapter 5, Germany, South Korea and Sweden to a certain extent provide choices 67

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

for parents to choose to rely on ECEC or paid childcare leave to organise care. The way this ‘group’ is coordinating the supported adult carer model and the supported adult worker model is different from other countries. Given the existence of such a concrete example, it is worth exploring how the discussion of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model contributes to the study of welfare regimes and welfare typologies. More details about childcare leave measures and ECEC of these three countries are in Chapter 4.

68

4

Policy case studies: childcare leave measures and ECEC Introduction This chapter and the following two are intended to use the supply approach discussed in Chapter 1 to explore the significance of the key elements of the life-​mix framework in four policy domains –​namely, childcare leave measures, ECEC, pensions and ALMPs. These policy domains could have direct effects on how women organise their working and caring lives. Measures in these policy domains in seven East Asian and non-​East Asian countries and territories (namely, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, South Korea, Sweden and the UK) are examined. The reasons for choosing these countries and territories and the characteristics of their welfare regimes and the model of family policies can be found in Chapter 1. This chapter is concerned with two closely related policy domains: three types of childcare paid leave measures (namely, maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave) and ECEC. Both childcare paid leave measures and ECEC are targeted at women as well as at families with children. Maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave are categorised as childcare leave measures because they are expected to give users more time to look after children in their families (EC, 2014; 2019). Five analytical tasks are carried out in the following sections: the first is to show how childcare leave measures together with ECEC serve as different life-​mix tactics for forming different types of policy strategies on productivism; the second is to discuss how the formulation and assessment of the childcare leave measures and ECEC enhance the importance of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model; the third is to discuss the key features of the childcare leave measures and ECEC in the seven countries and territories; the fourth is to discuss the implications of studying the ECEC and childcare leave measures in these countries and territories on the coordination between the two supported adult models; and the last is to explore ways for improving the coordination between the two supported adult models through strengthening the coordination between the provision of childcare leave and ECEC.

Childcare leave measures Paid maternity leave measures are generally available to mothers only. It is understood to be a health and welfare measure intended to give 69

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

protection to the health of both the mothers and their newborn children (Koslowski et al, 2019). The ILO suggests its members should provide 14 weeks of maternity leave with a wage replacement ratio no less than two thirds of women’s previous earnings (Addati, 2015; OECD, 2019b). In some countries such as Norway and Sweden, there is no separate regulation for paid maternity leave, with stipulations integrated into the parental leave scheme (OECD, 2019b). Paternity leave measures are provided for new fathers or the partners of new mothers for looking after the newborn baby and the mother (Koslowski et al, 2019). Paid parental leave measures can be provided to mothers and fathers, either as a non-​transferable individual right or as an individual right that can be transferred to the other parent or as a family right that parents can divide between themselves as they choose (Ciccia and Verloo, 2012; Koslowski et al, 2019; OECD, 2019b). In some countries such as Germany and Austria, the government provides ‘bonus periods’, where a couple may qualify for some extra weeks of paid leave if both parents use a certain period of sharable leave (OECD, 2016).

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) ECEC has multiple functions. It is seen as an important means to promote children’s social rights and welfare. One of the 20 key principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights states that ‘children have the right to affordable early childhood education and care of good quality’.1 In 2002, the European Council in Barcelona set targets for ECEC provision to cover at least 90 per cent of preschool children (aged 3 to school age) and 33 per cent of the under-​3s (EC, 2014). The importance of ECEC in providing the foundation for lifelong learning and development of children is increasingly recognised. The EC set the target that by 2020 at least 95 per cent of children between age 4 and the starting age of compulsory primary education should be participating in early childhood education.2 The OECD (2001, p 41) stresses that ‘children are in need to be readied to learn or readied for school so that they can eventually take their places as workers in a global economy’. ECEC is also widely regarded as a policy instrument for supporting women to take part in formal employment (EC, 2014). In discussing the need for ECEC, the EC (2019) points out that women’s engagement in the labour force is linked to the age of their children, and their withdrawal from the workplace could be partly explained by the lack of available provision for young children. It is commonly believed that if ECEC is provided full time (for example, 30 or more hours per week), it will be useful in reducing the work–​life balance challenges faced by working parents.

70

Childcare leave and ECEC

Life-​mix tactics The following four paragraphs outline combinations of the life-​mix tactics discussed in Chapter 1. These are supported by measures relating to childcare leave measures and ECEC. Recognising and rewarding the informal care Adequately compensated maternity leave measures give mothers time and resources to provide care for their newborn children and maintain a reasonable standard of living without taking part in formal employment. The notion of adequate compensation means that parents continue to receive a substantial part of their prior earnings during their leave and will not, therefore, face great financial hardship as a result of taking time off work to look after their children. According to the EU (2019), leave is considered to be adequately compensated if parents receive at least 65 per cent of previous earnings during this period. The provision of these measures can be seen as a recognition of mothers’ and fathers’ contributions to rearing children for the society. Redistributing and reducing informal care responsibilities Adequately compensated parental leave measures reserved for fathers give fathers time and resources to provide care to their children. By performing the role of care providers in the family, fathers may be able to reduce the care responsibilities of the mothers. Studies show that fathers who take leave after a child is born take on more childcare responsibilities initially and continue to involve themselves in the provision of care for their child after the leave has ended (Haas and Hwang, 2008; Raub et al, 2018). Adequately compensated maternity leave and parental leave measures reserved for mothers give mothers time and resources to provide care to their child. By relying on the support of these leave measures to organise their caring lives, mothers may be able to reduce the care responsibilities of the father. As ECEC serves to outsource the care responsibilities from the family to the public sector (EC, 2014; 2019), it may be able to reduce the care responsibilities of both the fathers and the mothers. Rewarding and recognising work If childcare leave measures are provided to employees as a benefit associated with employment, they can be seen as an instrument for rewarding and recognising workers’ (those who have the entitlements) participation in formal employment.

71

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

Redistributing and reducing work If childcare leave measures are provided only to employees, they will serve to give workers (those who have the entitlement) a break from their work. It is reasonable to expect that the responsibilities previously taken by these workers are likely to be transferred to their colleagues during the leave period.

Policy strategies on productivism Different combinations of the life-​mix tactics constitute different policy strategies on productivism. These include: • • • • • • • • • • • •

supporting women to have a working life; supporting men to have a working life; supporting women to have a caring life; supporting men to have a caring life; supporting both men and women to have a caring life; supporting both men and women to have a working life; supporting both men and women to have a caring and a working life at the same time; supporting both men and women to detach from a caring and a working life at the same time; supporting women to shift from a working life to a caring life; assisting men to shift from a working life to a caring life; supporting women to shift from a caring life to a working life; supporting men to shift from a working life to a caring life.

Table 4.1 shows how these policy strategies on productivism are related to life-​mix tactics and measures relating to childcare leave measures or ECEC.

The supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model This section is concerned with the potential of childcare leave measures and ECEC in strengthening the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. These policy measures can assist women and men in organising their working and caring lives in different ways but they are not always beneficial to both men and women. Childcare leave measures together with ECEC can assist women to organise their lives based on the supported adult worker model in various ways. First, they can influence how care responsibilities are allocated in the family. If a government provides parental leave for fathers, it can encourage fathers to share more care responsibilities in the family and 72

Childcare leave and ECEC Table 4.1: Policy strategies on productivism (in the domains of childcare leave and ECEC) Policy strategies on Life-​mix tactics productivism

Policy measure examples

• To support both • To reward and • Maternity leave men and women to recognise informal • Paternity leave have a caring life care • Parental leave

Objectives of the policy measures • To reward men and women who look after their children • To recognise their contribution to society by rearing children

• To support women • To reduce and to have a working redistribute life women’s informal care responsibilities

• Parental leave for • To encourage men men only to take on more • Paternity leave care responsibilities • ECEC • To reduce women’s care responsibilities • To outsource care responsibilities from the family to other sectors

• To support men to • To reduce and have a working life redistribute men’s informal care responsibilities

• Parental leave for • To encourage women women only to take on more • Maternity leave care responsibilities • ECEC • To reduce men’s care responsibilities • To outsource care responsibilities from the family to other sectors

• To stress the equal • To reward importance of a and recognise caring life and a informal care working life • To reduce and • To support women redistribute to have either of informal care them responsibilities

• Generously paid maternity leave • Parental leave for women for a reasonably long period • ECEC

• To provide women who prefer to attach to a caring life with the time and resources they need • To reduce childcare responsibilities of women who prefer to attach to a working life by using ECEC

• To stress the equal • To reward importance of a and recognise caring life and a informal care working life • To reduce and • To support men redistribute the to have either of informal care them responsibilities

• Generously paid paternity leave • Parental leave for men for a reasonably long period • ECEC

• To provide men who prefer to attach to a caring life with the time and resources they need • To reduce childcare responsibilities of men who prefer to have a working life by using ECEC

• To support men and women to make double attachment to a caring and a working life

• To reward and • Long and recognise informal generously paid care parental leave

• To give men and women the time and resources to provide care to their children and to protect their jobs at the same time (continued)

73

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 4.1: Policy strategies on productivism (in the domains of childcare leave and ECEC) (continued) Policy strategies on Life-​mix tactics productivism

Policy measure examples

Objectives of the policy measures

• To support men and women to detach from both a caring and a working life

• To reduce informal • Maternity leave care responsibilities • Paternity leave • To reduce work • Parental leave • ECEC

• To allow men and women to have a break from work by using childcare leave • To allow men and women to have a break from care responsibilities by using ECEC

• To assist women to shift from a working life to a caring life

• To reward informal care responsibilities

• Generously paid maternity leave

• To enable women to have a break from paid work to provide care to their children

• To assist men to shift from a working life to a caring life

• To reward informal care responsibilities

• Generously paid paternity leave and parental leave for men

• To enable men to have a break from paid work to provide care to their children

• To assist women to • To reduce and shift from a caring redistribute life to a working informal care life responsibilities • To assist men to shift from a working life to a caring life

• ECEC • To reduce women’s • Parental leave for care responsibilities men • To encourage mothers to return to paid work after the end of maternity leave

• To reward informal • ECEC • To reduce men’s care responsibilities • P  arental leave for care responsibilities women • To encourage fathers to return to paid work after the end of paternity leave

make it easier for mothers to stay in a working life after childbirth. Second, governments can adjust the division of care responsibilities between the family and the public sector through the provision of ECEC. As more care responsibilities in the family are outsourced to ECEC, women who are no longer expected to be the main informal care providers are likely to have their care responsibilities reduced and thus have more time to develop their career. In addition, if a government supports young children to attend ECEC after their mothers’ maternity leave ends, it will give mothers better opportunity to transit from a caring life to a working life (EC, 2014; 2019). In this sense, this arrangement assists mothers of young children to shift the basis of organising their adult lives from the supported adult carer model to the supported adult worker model. A study in Norway found that paid leave reserved for fathers alongside cheaper childcare resulted in an earlier return to work for women (Ronsen and Kitterod, 2015). Lastly, governments can also support women to organise 74

Childcare leave and ECEC

their lives based on the supported adult carer model through the provision of paid maternity leave and parental leave for women, although the level of this support depends very much on the duration of the leave, and the amount of subsidies a government provides to the users. Under the two adult supported models, governments can also create favourable conditions for men to organise their working lives through the provision of ECEC, adequately compensated maternity leave and the parental leave measures reserved for mothers. These measures will provide women with more support and reduce the pressure on men to share more caring responsibilities at home. Besides, governments can provide long and adequately compensated paternity leave and parental leave measures reserved for men to provide men with the time and resources to organise their lives under the supported adult carer model. Studies show that fathers who take leave after a child is born take on more childcare responsibilities initially and continue to be more involved with childcare after the leave is over (O’Brien, 2009; Raub et al, 2018; Haas and Hwang, 1999). Similarly, governments can give both women and men the opportunity to choose between organising their lives under the supported adult carer model or the supported adult worker model. This can be done by providing them with a long period of adequately compensated parental leave, and at the same time providing ECEC for their young children. In this way, the mother or the father, or both, can choose to use ECEC and return to work or continue to use their childcare leave to look after their child. Some leave measures, such as those giving men adequately compensated non-​transferable parental leave, and those giving extra subsidies to parents if a father is willing to apply for parental leave, serve to increase the take-​up rate (Lapuerta et al, 2011; Vogl and Krell, 2012; Ekberg, Eriksson and Friebel, 2013). However, the effectiveness of these measures should not be taken for granted. First, the childcare leave measures and ECEC used by governments may not be fully utilised by all the people who are entitled to the provision. Studies indicate that men may not be willing to take the parental leave to provide care for their children (Chau and Yu, 2020). For example, in Japan, only about 2 per cent of employed fathers with a newborn child make use of parental leave (Nakazato and Nishimura, 2015). Men’s low take-​up rate of the parental leave can be due to various reasons –​there is an unequal gender distribution of domestic tasks within the family; men may earn more than women; the workplace culture does not encourage men to apply for a long period of leave; or men prefer to play the role of breadwinners rather than the care providers in the family (Bygren and Duvander, 2006; Mun and Brinton, 2015; Dearing, 2016; Boyer and Fagnani, 2019; Chau and Yu, 2020). Second, whether these measures are effective or not depends on how they are assessed. It is not difficult to recognise that the current assessment 75

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

criteria are under the heavy influence of the supported adult worker model. Dearing (2016) points out that very short and very long durations of leave measures only have a slightly positive effect on women’s employment participation and working hours, whereas moderate duration have a large positive effect. This view is reinforced by other studies. Raub et al (2018) argue that periods of leave lasting over six–​12 months in length may have negative impacts on women’s labour force experiences. In discussing the ideal leave policy model, Dearing (2016) suggests a 14-​month, well-​paid leave measure (half of it being reserved for men). Such discussion shows that the desirability of the leave measures should be judged in terms of their effect on women’s chances of returning to work, not women’s opportunities of choosing to continue their caring role, nor the quality of the care the child could receive. It is important to note that the desirability of the childcare leave measures can be examined not only from the angle of the supported adult worker model but also from the angle of the supported adult carer model. Since childcare leave measures give users the support (in terms of time and resources) to attach to a caring life, the longer the childcare leave policy measures are the better from the view of the supported adult carer model. Following this logic, measures involving paid maternity leave lasting a long time can be seen as highly desirable, regardless of the effects on women’s incentives to take part in formal employment. With the emphasis on the supported adult carer model, the assessment of leave policy measures may also focus on whether men are given the same opportunity as women in choosing a caring life. It is not uncommon that men are entitled to less generous paid childcare leave than women. This can be seen as a problem because men are given fewer favourable conditions to organise their lives based on the supported adult carer model than some of them may prefer. Furthermore, those in favour of the supported adult carer model are likely to question the work-​based eligibility criteria for the allocation of childcare leave. It is important to note that paid childcare leave measures in many countries are only available to employees (Dobrotic and Blum, 2020). For example, in South Korea, only employees are entitled to paid maternity leave (Kim, 2019). This eligibility criterion excludes those who organise their adult lives without taking part in formal employment. From the angle of the supported adult carer model, such an exclusion can be seen as an inadequacy in childcare leave measures. Based on these points, it can be said that the precondition for developing policies that help people to choose to organise their lives based on the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model is that the government gives both models equal importance as a basis for assessing its policies.

76

Childcare leave and ECEC

Leave measures in the seven countries and territories This section discusses the maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave measures in the seven countries and territories. The basic features of these measures are shown in Tables 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.5. There are important differences between childcare leave measures in the seven countries and territories. The UK provides 39 weeks of paid maternity leave. It is more than double of what is provided in Germany and Hong Kong (14 weeks). France has the longest statutory paternity leave (11 days). Germany provides no statutory paternity leave. While both Hong Kong and South Korea are located in East Asia, their parental leave policies have significant differences. The Hong Kong government does not implement any statutory parental policy. The South Korean government provides one year of paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers. Some of the parental leave in Sweden is transferable, whereas the parental leave in South Korea is not. Both France and Hungary provide long parental leave. However, most of the parental leave in France is not adequately paid. In Hungary, the paid parental leave entitlement includes the GYED (Gyermekgondozási díj –​a childcare fee) for two years, supplemented by the flat-​rate GYES (Gyermekgondozási segély –​a child home care allowance) for the remaining year (Chzhen, Gormada and Rees, 2019). This shows that people only have a maximum of two years’ leave that is adequately compensated. It is also important to note that not all people are entitled to the GYED. Those who cannot access GYED may have no choice but to rely on the support of GYES in most of the leave period. In Germany and Sweden, children are entitled to attend ECEC at the age of 1. In France and the UK, children are entitled to attend ECEC at the age of 3.3 In Hungary, parents have a legal obligation to ensure any child over the age of 2 attends ECEC. In South Korea, a childcare subsidy is available to all children aged 5 or younger who attend ECEC.

ECEC in the seven countries and territories This section is concerned with the insights provided by OECD data into various dimensions of ECEC policies in the seven countries and territories, including the public expenditure on ECEC, the enrolment rates of ECEC and the out-​of-​pocket childcare costs for a two-​earner couple family as a percentage of average earning (see Tables 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8 and 4.9). The discussion of these OECD data is supplemented by the comparative data provided by the European Council. Hong Kong is not an OECD member. Data on ECEC in Hong Kong are mainly from local reports and statistics. There are significant differences in the ages at which children have a guaranteed place in ECEC between the seven countries and territories. 77

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 4.2: Maternity leave measures in the seven countries/​territories –​various years Country/​ Duration territory

Payment

France

• 100% of earnings (with an • Users are obliged to take two upper limit of Euro 3,311 weeks before birth. per month) • All employed and self-​employed women are covered.

16 weeks

Remarks

Germany 14 weeks

• 100% of earnings (of the mean income in the three months before the maternity leave), with no upper limit on payments

• All insured women are covered. • Self-​employed women are not entitled to the leave benefits. • It is obligatory to take the eight weeks’ leave after the birth.

Hong Kong

14 weeks

• 80% of the average • The wage in the first ten weeks daily wages earned by an is paid by the employer and the employee in the 12-​month rest of the period is paid by the period preceding the first government. day of the maternity leave

Hungary

24 weeks

• 70% of average daily earnings

South Korea

90 calendar days

• 100% with no ceiling for • A minimum of 45 days must be the first 60 days, paid by taken after birth. the employer. • Self-​employed workers are • The reminder is paid 100% not eligible. of earnings with a ceiling • A woman who gave birth but is not paid by Employment eligible for the maternity benefit is Insurance entitled to receive KRW1,500,000 (Euro 1,068.25) for 90 days.

Sweden

Women • 77.6% of earning have to take two weeks’ maternity leave before or after birth

UK

39 weeks • 90% of woman’s average • Employed mothers have the right (plus 13 weekly earnings (before to transfer all maternity leave to weeks of tax) for the first six weeks the fathers, except for the two unpaid leave) • 90% of the average weekly weeks of obligatory leave. This earnings for the next 33 period of leave is termed ‘shared weeks or GBP 151.20 parental leave’ (SPL). • Partners taking statutory shared parental leave will be paid at the lesser rate of 90% of earnings, or the flat rate of GBP 148.68 (Euro 166.52) during the first 37 weeks.

• This includes all women employees and the self-​employed with at least 365 calendar days of employment in the two years preceding the leave. • Two weeks are obligatory.

• All employed women are covered • Pregnant women may start using the parental leave benefit during the last weeks of pregnancy.

Sources: EC, 2014; 2019; OECD, 2016; Koslowski et al, 2019; Koslowski et al, 2020; Labour Department, HKSAR Government, 2020 (compiled by the authors).

78

Childcare leave and ECEC Table 4.3: Paid paternity leave measures in the seven countries/​territories –​ various years Country/​ territory

Duration

Payment

France

11 working days

• 100% of earnings (with an upper limit of Euro 3,311 per month)

Germany

N/a

N/a

Hong Kong

Five days

• 80% of the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-​month period preceding the day of paternity leave

Hungary

Five days

• 100% of father’s average daily wage with no ceiling on payments

South Korea

Ten days

• 100% of the ordinary earnings

Sweden

Ten calendar days

• 77.6% earnings up to an earnings ceiling of SEK341,250.60 (Euro 32,053.20) per year

UK

One or two weeks

• A flat-​rate payment of GBP 148.68 (Euro 166.52) per week or 90% of average weekly earnings, if that is less. • If the father works two or three days per week, he would receive four or six days of leave. If the father works seven days, he would receive 14 days of leave.

Sources: EC, 2014; 2019; OECD, 2016; Chzhen, Gormada and Rees, 2019; Koslowski et al, 2019; Labour Department, HKSAR Government, 2020 (compiled by the authors).

Among EU member states, only seven (including Germany and Sweden) guarantee a place in publicly funded provision for each child from an early age (6–​18 months) (EC, 2019). German law specifies that municipalities have to provide a childcare place either in centre-​based or in home-​based care for children from the age of 1, and in centre-​based ECEC for children aged 3 years and older (EC, 2019). According to the Education Act in Sweden, children from the age of 1 are legally entitled to ECEC (EC, 2019). South Korea is another country among the seven countries and territories that offers ECEC to children from an early age. The South Korean government provides a childcare subsidy to all children aged 5 years or younger to attend any type of formal ECEC facilities (Kim, 2018). France, Hungary and the UK guarantee children aged 3 and older a place in ECEC. In France, a recent law requires that every 3-​year-​old child must be admitted to the école maternelle (kindergarten) as close as possible to the child’s home (EC, 2019). In the UK, local authorities are required to secure free places offering 570 hours a year over no fewer than 38 weeks of the year, and up to 52 weeks of the year, for every eligible child aged 3 or 4 in their area (EC, 2019). In Hungary, children must attend ECEC four hours per day but there is no maximum limit (EC, 2019). The minimum opening hours of ovoda (kindergarten) are eight hours per 79

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 4.4: Paid parental leave measures in the seven countries/​territories –​various years Country/​ territory

Duration

Payment

Remark

France

• Parental leave is provided until the child reaches 3 years of age. • Leave is an individual entitlement.

• A childcare allowance (Prestation partagée d’éducation de l’enfant, PreParE) is paid to all parents and is income-​ related: dependent on whether the recipient works and their work period.

• The basic benefit is Euro 396 per month if not working; Euro 256 per month if working fewer than half of full-​time hours; and Euro 147 per month if working 50 to 80% of full-​time hours.

Germany

• Each parent • Parents can choose • I f both parents claim is entitled to between two types at least two months of parental leave of leave benefit benefit, the length of up to three years payments: Basiselterngeld benefit period will be after childbirth, of (Basic Parental extended by two months. which 24 months Allowance) and can be taken up ElterngeldPlus (Parental until the child’s Allowance Plus) eighth birthday. according to their • This is an individual circumstances. entitlement and non-​transferable.

Hong Kong

N/a

N/a

Hungary

• Two types of parental leave and benefits –​ the GYES and the GYED. • For parents who are not insured, the GYES provides the support until the child’s third birthday. • For insured parents, the GYES provides the support from the end of GYED (child’s second birthday) until the child’s third birthday.

• The GYES provides • A parent receiving GYES users a flat-​rate benefit can start working when equal to the amount of the child is 6 months old. the minimum old-​age He/​she can then work pension HUF 28,500 unlimited hours while (Euro 87.81) per month. still receiving the full • The GRED provides benefit until the child’s support to the insured third birthday. parents from the end • A parent receiving GYED of the maternity leave can also work unlimited period until the child’s hours when the child second birthday. The turns 6 months old. amount of payment is 70% of average daily earnings (calculated for the last 180 days prior to the birth, up to a ceiling of 70% of twice the minimum daily wage (HUF 149,000 or Euro 459.08 per month).

N/a

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Childcare leave and ECEC Table 4.4: Paid parental leave measures in the seven countries/​territories –​various years (continued) Country/​ territory

Duration

Payment

Remark

South Korea

• One year for each employed parent. • The leave is an individual, non-​ transferable entitlement.

• For the first three • I f both parents take months of full-​time parental leave for the parental leave, 80% of same child at different ordinary earnings, with times, the allowance for a minimum of KRW the first three months 700,000 (Euro 530.77) of leave taken by the per month and an upper second parent will limit of KRW 1,5000,000 increase to 100% of (Euro 1,137.36) ordinary earnings, with a per month. limit of KRW 2,500,000 • 50% of ordinary (Euro 1,895.60). earnings, with a • I f both parents take leave minimum of KRW at the same time, only 700,000 (Euro 530.77) one parent will receive per month and a the allowance. maximum of KRW 1,200,000 (Euro 800.29) per month.

Sweden

• Each parent is entitled to take full-​time leave from work until their child is 18 months old.

• Parents eligible for •P  arents with joint income-​related custody are eligible for benefit; 195 days 240 days of parental of leave are paid at leave each. For each 77.6% of earnings, parent, 195 of the 240 up to an earnings leave days are income-​ ceiling of SEK 455,000 based. Of these days, (Euro 45,218.07); the 90 days are reserved and remaining 45 days cannot be transferred are paid at a flat-​rate to the other parent. The payment of SEK 180 remaining 105 income-​ (Euro 17.05) per day. based days for each • Parents who are parent can be transferred ineligible to income-​ to the other. related benefit receive •B  oth parents can take up a flat rate of SEK250 to 30 days of paid leave (Euro 23.48) per day for at the same time, until 240 days. the child reaches 1 year of age.

UK

• There is no paid N/​a parental leave. • 18 weeks of unpaid leave per parent per child.

• The leave is an individual, non-​transferable entitlement.

Sources: EC, 2014; 2019; OECD, 2016; Chzhen, Gormada and Rees, 2019; Koslowski et al, 2019; Koslowski et al, 2020; Labour Department, HKSAR Government, 2020 (compiled by the authors).

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Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 4.5: Total expenditure (as a percentage of GDP) on ECEC –​2015 Country/​territory

Total expenditure on ECEC (% of GDP, 2015)

France

1.3

Germany

0.6

Hong Kong

N/a

Hungary

0.7

South Korea

1.0

Sweden

1.6

UK

0.6

Source: OECD, 2020a (compiled by the authors)

Table 4.6: Total public expenditure on ECEC per child aged 0–​5 –​2015 Country/​territory

Total public expenditure on ECEC per child aged 0–​5 in USD PPP (2015)

France

7,400

Germany

5,600

Hong Kong

N/​a

Hungary

3,400

South Korea

6,300

Sweden

3,700

UK

3,700

Note: PPP –​purchasing power parity. Source: OECD, 2020a (compiled by the authors)

day and the usual availability is ten hours per day (EC, 2019). In Hong Kong, children have no legal entitlement to an ECEC place (University of Hong Kong, 2018). However, despite the legal framework that guarantees a place in ECEC for all children in most countries, in reality some municipalities may still struggle to balance supply with demand. In Germany, despite the legal entitlement from the age of 1, in practice unmet demand for ECEC for children under the age of 3 was 12 per cent in 2017 (the enrolment rate at 33 per cent versus 45 per cent of the demanded enrolment) (EC, 2019). The French government has a high financial commitment to the provision of ECEC. The proportion of its total expenditure on ECEC to GDP (1.3 per cent) in France is double of that (0.6 per cent) in the UK and so is the total public expenditure on ECEC per child aged 0–​5 (see Table 4.5). 82

Childcare leave and ECEC Table 4.7: Enrolment rate in ECEC –​2015 Country/​territory

Enrolment rate in ECEC (0–​2 years old) (2015)

Remarks

France

56.3%

N/a

Germany

37.2%

Children are legally entitled to a publicly subsidised childcare place from the age of 1.

Hong Kong

N/a

There is no legal entitlement to ECEC for children aged between 0 to 36 months.

Hungary

16.3%

N/a

South Korea

56.3%

A childcare subsidy is available for all children aged 5 years or younger to attend any type of formal ECEC facility, regardless of the family income level.

Sweden

46.6%

From the age of 1, children are entitled to publicly subsidised ECEC provision.

UK

37.7%

N/a

Source: OECD, 2020a (compiled by the authors)

Table 4.8: Enrolment rate in ECEC and primary education –​2017 Country/​territory

Enrolment rate in ECEC Remarks and primary education (3–​5 years) (2017)

France

100%

From the age of 3, children are legally entitled to be admitted to pre-​primary schools free of charge.

Germany

94.5%

N/a

Hong Kong

N/​a

Parents are not legally obliged to send their children to kindergartens but almost all children aged between 3 and 6 study in kindergartens.

Hungary

92%

From the age of 2, 20 weekly hours of ECEC in ovoda are compulsory. Children who reach the age of 3 within the next six months may also be admitted to ovoda. Despite this regulation, the enrolment rate in ECEC is not 100%.

South Korea

94.6%

N/a

Sweden

94.1%

From the age of three, children are entitled to ECEC provision free of charge for at least 15 hours per week.

UK

100%

Starting at the age of 3, children can have 15–​ 32 hours per week of free ECEC.

Source: OECD, 2020a (compiled by the authors)

83

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 4.9: Out-​of-​pocket childcare costs for a two–​earner couple family as a percentage of average earning –​various years Country/​territory

Out-​of-​pocket childcare Remarks cost for a two–​earner couple family (% of average earning)

France

13.1%

The average monthly fee for ECEC for children under 3 years of age is 133–​301 in the national currency.

Germany

4.7%

N/​a

Hong Kong

N/​a

N/​a

Hungary

5%

The average monthly fee for ECEC for children under 3 years of age is 100–​440 in the national currency.

South Korea

3.6%

N/​a

Sweden

3.9%

Children aged 3 or older are entitled to 15 hours of free ECEC. The average monthly fees for ECEC for children under 3 years of age was 0–​1,382 in the national currency.

UK

40.8%

The average monthly fee for ECEC for children under 3 years of age is 1,067 in the national currency.

Source: EC, 2019; OECD, 2020a (compiled by the authors).

Both France (56.3 per cent) and South Korea (56.3 per cent) have a high enrolment rate in ECEC for children aged 0–​2 (see Table 4.7). As children do not normally attend ECEC during the childcare leave period, this may reduce the ECEC participation rates of children under the age of 2, especially in countries which provide highly subsidised childcare leave. Almost all the seven countries and territories have a high enrolment rate in the ECEC and primary education for children aged 3–​5. Both France and the UK have an enrolment rate of 100 per cent. It is due to the fact that almost all the seven countries and territories (except Hong Kong) provide some legal entitlement to ECEC for children in this age range. Meanwhile, there is an inadequate provision of highly subsidised childcare leave measures for their parents. As there is no guarantee that parents receive sufficient financial support from the childcare leave, they need to give some care responsibilities to ECEC in order to return to or take part in formal employment. In addition, ECEC for the ages of 3 to 5 usually has an increasing emphasis on the education element. In order to prepare their children to receive formal primary education, more and more parents find it necessary for their children to attend ECEC. Local reports provide important information about ECEC in Hong Kong. The government-​aided and unaided standalone childcare centres and 84

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government-​aided and unaided childcare centres attached to kindergartens are widely seen as important providers of childcare services in Hong Kong (University of Hong Kong, 2018; Legislative Council Secretariat, 2019). All the government-​aided standalone childcare centres provide long, full-​day childcare services for children under the age of 2, with only two which also provide services for children from the age of 2 to 3. Most of the unaided standalone childcare centres focus on serving children who are aged 2 to 3 (University of Hong Kong, 2018). The majority of childcare centres attached to kindergartens serve children from the age of 2 to under-​3, with nine aided and 19 unaided centres also providing places for children under the age of 2 (University of Hong Kong, 2018). Evidence throws doubts on the Hong Kong government’s apparent enthusiasm for developing ECEC (Chau, Foster and Yu, 2016; University of Hong Kong, 2018; Legislative Council Secretariat, 2019; Yu, Chau, Li and Lee, 2020). There is only one place available for every 61 children aged from 0 to 24 months (University of Hong Kong, 2018). ECEC is also too expensive for grassroots families, as the government subsidises only one fifth of the operating cost of centre-​based services (Yu, Chau and Kühner, 2018; Labour and Welfare Bureau, 2019). In 2018, the median monthly employment earning for working mothers in the lower half of the income distribution was below HKD10,500.4 The median monthly fee for the centre-​based services was HKD5,537 for children aged below two (Labour and Welfare Bureau, 2019; Legislative Council Secretariat, 2019), more than half of the monthly income of many working mothers.

Implications This section is concerned with the implications of studying the childcare leave and ECEC in the seven countries and territories. Its focus is on different patterns of the coordination between the two supported adult models, the causes of a weak coordination between the two and the resulting negative welfare outcomes. Coordination between the two supported adult models Adequately subsidised childcare leave can financially support the users to take up caring responsibilities and can serve to reinforce the supported adult carer model. ECEC outsources the care responsibilities from the family to the public sector. This may give family care providers more time to develop their career. These two policy domains are important in supporting both men and women in organising their working and caring lives. The discussion of how the childcare leave measures and ECEC are provided in the seven countries and territories is useful in exploring the impact of 85

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

different levels of coordination between policy measures under the two supported adult models. A strong coordination between the measures in the two policy domains can create a ‘measure overlapping period’, whereas a weak coordination may generate a ‘childcare gap period’. In the measure overlapping period, parents are still entitled to some weeks of childcare leave even though a place in publicly subsidised ECEC provision is guaranteed. This means that parents would have a choice to continue to provide care for their children under the supported adult carer model or to return to or take up paid work as promoted by the supported adult worker model. As a result, a wider range of life-​mix preferences among parents can be accommodated. The childcare gap period refers to the number of days that the provision of childcare is supported neither by adequately subsidised childcare leave nor by a guaranteed place in ECEC. The existence of a childcare gap period can be seen as a sign of a weak coordination between policy measures under the supported adult carer model and the supported adult worker model. Parents facing the childcare gap may have to pay a high cost for their life-​mix preferences. For example, if one or both parents choose to provide care full time to their young children in the childcare gap period, they may have to give up paid work and lose the financial resources to maintain the standard of living that they can attain by taking part in the labour market. To show the differences between strong and weak coordination between policy measures under the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model, we classify childcare leave policies and ECEC into three types (the highly committed, the moderately committed and the minimally committed) and illustrate them with examples from the seven countries and territories. Highly committed childcare leave policies provide users with at least 12 months of adequately compensated childcare leave.5 Moderately committed childcare leave policies refer to policies that provide users with at least 12 months of childcare leave but not all of them are adequately compensated. Minimally committed childcare leave policies provide users with less than 12 months of childcare leave. Highly committed ECEC policies guarantee a place in ECEC for each child after their first birthday. Moderately committed ECEC policies offer a place in ECEC for each child after their third birthday or a little earlier. Minimally committed ECEC policies do not give young children any legal entitlement to ECEC. Germany, South Korea and Sweden are marked by a combination of highly committed ECEC policies and highly committed childcare leave policies. As mentioned, in Germany and Sweden, children over 12 months old are entitled to ECEC. In addition to 14 weeks of highly paid maternity leave, parents in Germany may be able to claim a period of 12 (plus two) months of parental leave. The income replacement rate of this parental leave is 65 per cent of the preceding year’s net earnings. In Sweden, parents can each 86

Childcare leave and ECEC

claim 195 days of income-​based parental leave. South Korea provides each parent with one-​year parental leave. It also provides all children aged 5 or younger to attend any type of formal ECEC facility. All these three countries offer a childcare overlapping period. This can be seen as a sign of a strong coordination between policy measures under the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. France and the UK provide examples of the combination of moderately committed childcare leave policies and moderately committed ECEC. Children in these two countries are entitled to ECEC after they reach the age of 3. The duration of the adequately compensated childcare leave in these two countries is less than 12 months. There are important implications of this combination of childcare leave policies and ECEC. First, parents have a shorter period with support from the government than their counterparts in countries which implement highly committed childcare leave policies. Moreover, parents and their children are likely to face a childcare gap period, when the provision of childcare is neither supported by adequately subsidised childcare leave nor by a guaranteed place in ECEC. If one or both parents chooses to provide care to their young children full time in the childcare gap period, they face the risk of lacking sufficient financial resources to have a decent living or need to financially rely on other sources such as their wider family. Hungary is marked by a combination of moderately committed ECEC and highly committed childcare leave policies. As with its counterparts in France and the UK, the Hungarian government is legally obliged to provide publicly subsidised ECEC to children aged 3 or above. Hungary offers paid parental leave to insured parents from the end of the maternity leave period until the child’s second birthday. The pay level during the leave is equivalent to 70 per cent of the average daily earning. Compared with parents in France and the UK, parents in Hungary are supported to take care of their young children for a much longer period. Despite this, a childcare gap period of about one year still exists. If parents insist on providing care to their child full time in the childcare gap period, they may lack sufficient resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. Hong Kong provides an example of the combination of minimally committed leave policies and minimally committed ECEC. The Hong Kong government is not very keen to support parents to either play the role of family carers or workers. The inadequately compensated childcare leave (14 weeks plus five days) can barely support parents (mainly mothers) to provide care for their young children in the first three months of their lives. There is no legal entitlement to ECEC in Hong Kong. This means parents in Hong Kong could face the risk of a very long period of childcare gap before their children are entitled to free primary education (five years minus 14 weeks and five days equals four years, 27 weeks and two days). Such a long period 87

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

can be seen as a sign of weak coordination between policy measures under the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. Causes of a weak coordination between the two supported adult models As discussed in previous paragraphs, not all countries and territories can have a strong coordination between the two supported adult models. Some may have a weaker coordination between these two models. This section discusses the main causes of this weaker coordination. These include the unequal relationship between the two supported adult models, formalisation of childhood and constraints to the development of the two supported adult models. The unequal relationship between the two supported adult models The discussion of the expectations on childcare leave benefits and ECEC in most of the seven countries and territories shows that the relationship between the two supported adult models can be built on an unequal basis. In a study of five European countries (France, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and the UK), the European Council (2014) stresses that ECEC and childcare leave measures are an essential part of the two-​pronged approach for supporting employed parents in reconciling the demands of work and family. It recognises that childcare leave and ECEC have different functions. In the words of the EC (2014, p 36), ‘leave policies … enable parents to stay at home to look after their very young children’ and ECEC services serve to guarantee that ‘when parents return to work, good quality care and education is available’. Moreover, the EC stresses that ensuring synergy and continuity between the ECEC and childcare leave measures is very important (EC, 2014). As mentioned, ECEC can function as a vital means for promoting the supported adult worker model, whereas childcare leave measures can play a significant role in strengthening the supported adult carer model. Emphasising the importance of promoting the synergy between ECEC and child leave measures can be seen as emphasising the importance of the synergy between the two supported adult models. Following this logic, the European Council’s view can be understood in two ways. Both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model are important in assisting parents of young children to organise their lives. Nonetheless, the synergy between ECEC and childcare leave and the two respective supported adult models is not based on an equal relationship. As stressed by the European Council, ECEC and childcare leave measures are expected to meet the needs of employed parents. In other words, it is 88

Childcare leave and ECEC

the employed parents (rather than the parents who provide informal care full time for a long period) who are most in the mind of the European Council. This shows that the synergy between ECEC and childcare leave measures that the European Council promotes is founded on the subordination of the supported adult carer model to the supported adult worker model. Most governments of the seven countries and territories only provide adequately compensated childcare leave for two years or less. This suggests that the support they provide for parents to lead a caring life is only for a transitional period. After this period expires, most parents are expected to move from a caring life to a working life through relying on ECEC or other means to reduce their care responsibilities. As long as the relationship between the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model is built on an unequal basis, ECEC and childcare leave measures will only be provided in favour of some life-​mix preferences (such as those centred around a working life) but not the others (such as those focused on a caring life). The formalisation of childhood The provision of ECEC and childcare leave measures in the seven countries and territories shows that the coordination of the supported adult carer model and the supported adult worker model is affected not only by how the need of informal care providers is defined but also by how the need of informal care receivers is understood. Over the past few decades, the provision of formal education has significantly changed the function of the family. It not only reduces the role of the family in providing learning for children but also increasingly formalises childhood. Because of the free and compulsory education policies, receiving formal education, and constructing daily lives based on the timetable provided by schools, become the rights of children. Organising their children’s daily lives according to the requirements of compulsory education becomes the parents’ moral and legal obligations. Moreover, the education sector performs an increasingly significant role in defining the well-​being and ‘well-​becoming’ (well-​being in the future) of children. Evidence shows that ECEC plays an important part in accelerating and enhancing the formalisation of childhood. First, in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN (2015, p 19) stresses ‘By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-​primary education so that they are ready for primary education’. The last year of the ECEC is commonly seen as a ‘preschool year’. This means that children (at the age of 4 or 5) are expected to receive some kinds of formal education through attending ECEC instead of staying at home receiving informal care from their parents or other family members. 89

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

Besides, to justify the importance of ECEC, international organisations stress that children’s experiences of attending ECEC is an important factor in determining children’s well-​being. Widely used evidence for supporting this view is from a study which found 15-​year-​old students who had attended ECEC for more than one year at their young age tended to achieve better results in mathematics than those who previously attended ECEC for a period from 0 to 12 months (OECD, 2017). In addition to the academic achievement, some believe that the ECEC can secure a positive socialisation of children. For example, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport in the Netherlands (2000, p 8) points out: ‘concepts of childrearing and socialisation are changing. Although the family is still seen as centrally important and primarily responsible for the upbringing of children, there is a trend towards a new view of socialisation of children being a shared social responsibility, involving many different parties including government.’ This is based on the observation that families can no longer guarantee a good environment for young children to socialise because many families are small units (especially those with only one child that has no sibling to interact with) and many parents need to work or study. There is a need for children in early years to socialise and learn through their relationships with other children and other adults in an environment such as that found in ECEC (OECD, 2001). In addition, at the same time as expanding ECEC, more and more governments emphasise that children are independent citizens rather than a part of their families. The EC (2019) points out that the development of ECEC to a certain extent links to the modern childrearing belief that children should be taken seriously as persons at their early age. As emphasised by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children should be seen increasingly as a distinct group with their own rights and voices in society (James and Prout, 1990). Building on this view, the OECD (2001) stresses that ECEC provides the opportunities for children to socialise with their peers and learn what it means to be a citizen. All these changes make ECEC a necessary part of children’s formal school careers in the short term, and an important means to prepare children to be competitive workers in the global economy in the long run. It is important to note that the formalisation of childhood can undermine the influence of the supported adult carer model in shaping the caring relationship between parents and their children. As more responsibilities for providing care to young child are outsourced from the family to ECEC, people are less likely to provide informal care to their children in their full capacity. This may in turn encourage the government to reduce its support to the parents who want to organise their adult lives with policy measures under the supported adult carer model. This may also encourage the government to make more efforts to motivate parents to take part in a working life instead of having a caring life at home. 90

Childcare leave and ECEC

Constraints on the dynamic development of the two supported adult models Based on the discussion of how childcare leave and ECEC policies are provided in the seven countries and territories, it can be seen that the development of the two supported adult models is dynamic rather than static. Most of the seven governments adjust their commitment to ECEC and childcare leave policies from time to time. The Hong Kong government increased the duration of the adequately paid maternity leave from ten weeks to 14 weeks in 2020. In 2013, Germany lowered the age at which children are entitled to ECEC from 3 years old to 1 year old, showing that the country shifted its emphasis from moderately committed to highly committed ECEC policy. Such a change gives parents more freedom to choose to organise their lives based on policy measures under the supported adult worker model or the supported adult carer model. In addition to the continuous attempt by individual governments to revise childcare leave and ECEC policies, international organisations such as the OECD and the EU have been continuing to make suggestions on reforming childcare leave and ECEC measures. The European Legislation (1992) prescribes a minimum of 14 weeks’ maternity leave. In 2008, the EC introduced a proposal to reinforce the existing directive by extending the leave to 18 weeks and paying women their full salary during this period (EC, 2014). Under the directive 2010/​18/​EU, all EU member states must provide at least four months’ parental leave (Koslowski et al, 2019). In 2019, the European Parliament adopted a directive of the Council on work–​life balance for parents and carers and repealed Council Directive 2020/​EU (Koslowski et al, 2019). This directive brings changes including ten working days of paternity leave, paid at no less than the level of sick pay; two months of non-​transferable paid parental leave; five days of annual carers’ leave; and flexible working patterns. There is a Barcelona target in Europe that childcare should be provided for 33 per cent of children under 3 years old and 90 per cent of children from the age of 3 until mandatory school age. The EC set the target that by 2020 at least 95 per cent of children between the age of 4 and the starting age of compulsory primary education should be participating in early childhood education (EC, 2009a). The implementation of these suggestions shows that the significance of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model in shaping people’s lives is continuously changing. However, it is important to note the limits to the development of the two models. The EU encourages its members to provide ECEC to children after the age of 3. This can significantly limit the development of the childcare leave measures and thus the development of the supported adult carer model. The EU also suggests that parents should be enabled to use some 91

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

leave measures (such as parental leave and carers’ leave) after their children reach the age of 3. However, these leave measures are provided only in a fragmented way. They do not provide sufficient support to parents who want to organise their lives based on policy measures under the supported adult carer model after their children reach the age of 3. Some structural defects of the labour market (such as gender discrimination) make it difficult for women to take part in formal employment. Even if governments support women to take part in the labour market through family–​work reconciliation measures (such as maternity leave, childcare leave, ECEC and flexible working hours) and training and career support, there is no guarantee that female labour participation can be significantly boosted. This in turn weakens the development of the supported adult worker model.

Life-​mix challenges If the coordination between the provision of childcare leave measures and ECEC, and between the two supported adult models, cannot sufficiently meet people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix, people are likely to suffer from the life-​mix challenges (life-​mix material gaps, user deficits and life-​ mix relational constraints). Life-​mix material gaps As discussed in Chapter 1, life-​mix material gaps occur when there is a reduction in financial resources available for people to maintain a reasonable standard of living when they move from one life-​mix pattern to another. There is a close connection between the childcare gap period and the life-​mix material gap. In the childcare gap period, people may not receive sufficient government financial support to deal with the life-​mix material gap in relation to the change from the role of worker to the role of informal care provider and then back to the role of worker in the period of childcare gap. As mentioned earlier, the childcare gap in Hong Kong can be as long as four years or more. In this gap period, parents may need to use expensive private childcare services if both of them wish to return to work after the end of the childcare leave. Paying expensive private childcare services may undermine the parents’ chances of having sufficient resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. If one of the parents chooses to take care of their child full time, they will not need to pay for expensive private childcare services but their family incomes will be reduced. Also mentioned previously, Germany is more committed to the provision of childcare leave and ECEC than Hong Kong. But since its childcare overlapping period is not long, it may not be able to effectively meet all parents’ diverse preferences on life-​mix. As a matter of fact, the combination 92

Childcare leave and ECEC

of ECEC and childcare leave policies in Germany favours parents who prefer to provide care to their children for up to 14 months and then arrange for their child to receive care from ECEC, but does not meet the expectations of parents who prefer to provide informal care to their child full time for more than 14 months. If parents choose to do so, they may not have sufficient support from the government to maintain a reasonable standard of living. This means that these parents face a dilemma. On the one hand, if they choose to receive the combined support of ECEC and childcare leave that is not in line with their life-​mix preferences, they will face the life-​mix relational constraint (performing the role that they do not favour). On the other hand, if they choose not to accept the combined support of ECEC and childcare leave arranged by the government, they are vulnerable to a life-​mix material gap. It is important to note that one life-​mix material gap can link to another. For example, if a mother stops working in order to look after her children not only during but also after the paid childcare leave period, she may lack sufficient resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living and contribute to work-​related pension schemes. As a result, she not only faces a life-​mix material gap when she moves from being a full-​time worker to being a full-​ time childcare provider in the family, but may also face a life-​mix material gap when she moves to being a retiree. Chapter 5 provides more detailed discussion of the issue of multiple life-​mix material gaps. User deficits The user deficit is about the possibility that the opportunity cost of using a public service is higher than what people are willing to pay. A weaker coordination between ECEC and childcare leave policies can increase the vulnerability of people to user deficits. In Hungary, the use of ECEC is considered to be a social obligation and that is also true for the use of some maternity leave measures in some of the seven countries and territories. Even if these provisions lead to user deficits (for example, losing part of income during maternity leave and the cost of ECEC), people still cannot refuse to use them. Some childcare leave measures are transferable between parents. Individuals may not be able to refuse to use them if the decisions are in the hands of other family members. As mentioned earlier, the statutory shared parental leave policy in the UK allows either the father or the mother to take most of the leave. A mother may take most of the leave benefits even though this may make her lose part of her income. This can happen if a father makes the decision concerning whether and how to use the parental leave based on the consideration of his welfare more than his wife’s/​partner’s. In addition, governments continuously adjust ECEC and childcare leave policies. People may not necessarily be able to adjust their use of these 93

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

measures even though the policy changes bring them a user deficit. Rearing a child is a long-​term commitment. It is not always easy for people to make sufficient adjustments to this commitment to respond to the policy changes brought by their governments. Life-​mix relational constraints Life-​mix relational constraints refer to people’s lack of opportunities to organise their working or caring lives according to their preferences. With the emphasis on the subordination of the supported adult carer model to the supported adult worker model, there is no guarantee that the synergy emphasised by the European Council can meet people’s diverse life-​mix preferences. As mentioned earlier, ECEC and childcare leave policies in the seven countries and territories do not favour parents who want to play the role of informal care providers for a substantial period of time. If people have this life-​mix preference, they will become vulnerable to life-​ mix relational constraints.

Suggestions for improvement In order to reduce people’s chances of facing the life-​mix challenges, it is worth using the ‘not-​yet’ approach (as discussed in Chapter 2) to explore the near-​future goal in the policy domains of ECEC and childcare leave. This chapter is concerned with the near-​future goal that a government might want to achieve by a stronger coordination of ECEC provision and childcare leave measures. All the seven governments have laid down some foundations in the fields of ECEC and childcare leave for meeting this goal. Whether they can achieve the near-​future goal depends largely on whether they are willing to continue to work on the existing foundation. We illustrate this point with the examples of Hong Kong, Hungary and the UK. In view of the paid leave measures and ECEC in Hong Kong, reform suggestions for the Hong Kong government to consider are as follows: • increasing adequately compensated childcare leave to five years (children in Hong Kong receive free and compulsory education usually at the age of five); • providing highly subsidised ECEC (with the number of hours sufficient to meet the needs of parents working full time) to children after their first birthday until they reach the age of five. In view of the Hungarian government’s commitment to ECEC and paid leave benefits, the following reforms are suggested:

94

Childcare leave and ECEC

• increasing adequately compensated childcare leave from two years to five years; • supporting all people to use the benefits provided by GRED; • enabling children to attend ECEC after their first birthday until they reach the age of five; • making attending ECEC a legal entitlement rather than a compulsory obligation. In view of the UK government’s commitment to ECEC and paid leave benefits, two reform suggestions are made: • increasing adequately compensated childcare leave to five years (children in the UK receive free and compulsory education usually at the age of five); • enabling children to use ECEC after their first birthday rather than waiting until the age of three, and expanding the care hours to meet the needs of parents working full time. One cannot underestimate the difficulties in implementing the suggested reforms in these three locations (Hong Kong, Hungary and the UK), but it is worth putting the suggested reforms on the policy agenda. It is important to note that these reforms are not entirely new in the three locations. It is important to find ways to make the best use of the existing provisions to improve the coordination between ECEC, the childcare leave measures and the two supported adult models. The discussion of whether and to what extent the suggested reforms should be implemented can arouse concerns about important policy issues: • whether the increasing expansion of the formal life of very young children (through increasingly relying on the ECEC) is beneficial to their development; • whether it is acceptable to construct the synergy between childcare leave measures and ECEC based on the subordination of the supported adult carer model to the supported adult worker model; • how to ensure that both men and women have sufficient opportunities to choose between a working life and a caring life through the implementation of the childcare leave measures and ECEC; • whether the assessment of the effectiveness of childcare leave measures and ECEC should be equally based on the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model.

95

5

Policy case study: pension measures Introduction The last few decades have witnessed rising concerns about the level of expenditure on public pension schemes, especially in the context of an ageing population (Foster, 2014). In response to these concerns, it is not unusual for governments to launch work-​based pension reforms, which put emphasis on individual responsibilities and participation in formal employment (Maier, De Graaf and Frericks, 2007; Ginn and MacIntyre, 2013). In addition to measures intended to privatise pension systems, many governments have attempted to raise the pension age and to set the eligibility criteria and level of entitlement to public pensions increasingly based on individuals’ extent of participation in formal employment (Foster, 2012b; Kuitto and Helmdag, 2021). This chapter focuses on pension measures for two reasons. First, how people organise their working and/​or caring lives could have an impact on their later life stages. Second, the discussion of these measures provides insights into the investigation of the significance of the key elements of the life-​mix framework by the supply approach. To illustrate these points, this chapter uses high-​quality comparable information about these measures from the OECD (2019a) and information from the Hong Kong government. This chapter is organised into five parts. The first shows how pension measures serve as different life-​mix tactics for constituting different policy strategies on productivism. The second part is concerned with the impacts of these measures on the development of the supported adult carer model and the supported adult worker model. The third part focuses on the examples of these measures in the seven countries and territories. The fourth part explores the implications of studying these examples on the coordination between the two supported adult worker models in the pension domain. The last part makes suggestions for further improvement.

Life-​mix tactics Pension measures could provide support to the different combinations of life-​mix tactics as discussed in Chapter 1. The following paragraphs provide some examples.

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Pension measures

Rewarding and recognising work Governments could set the eligibility criteria for a full-​rate public pension based on people’s work history, thereby stressing the importance of taking part in formal employment as a means for gaining pension incomes for the later parts of life. Redistributing and reducing work Generous early retirement pension measures enable people to choose to leave formal employment and maintain a reasonable standard of living. Work duties of the users of these measures will be left and redistributed to their colleagues who stay behind. Recognising and rewarding informal care The measures that financially support providers of informal care in the family to contribute to the pension schemes enable users to gain pension incomes for the later parts of life. These measures recognise the contribution of informal carers and reward them with the opportunity to get a reasonable pension after retirement, just like those who engage in paid work. Reducing and redistributing informal care The measures that help female providers of informal care in the family to contribute to pension schemes may encourage them to continue and thus reduce the care responsibilities of male members. The provision of these measures that help male providers of informal care to contribute to pension schemes may give them the incentive to take on more care responsibilities. Through a redistribution of these responsibilities in the family, the care responsibilities of female family members will be reduced.

Policy strategies on productivism Different combinations of the life-​mix tactics supported by various pension measures constitute different policy strategies on productivism. These include providing people with the opportunity to have a caring or working life, supporting people to change from a working life to a caring life and supporting people to detach from both a caring life and a working life. Table 5.1 shows how these policies on productivism link to various life-​mix tactics and pension measures.

97

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 5.1: Policy strategies on productivism (in the domain of pension benefits) Policies on productivism (aims)

Life-​mix tactics

Policy measure examples

Objectives of the policy measures

• To support people to • To reward have a caring life and recognise informal care

• To subsidise informal care providers to contribute to pension schemes

• To increase informal care providers’ chances of having sufficient pension income to support their retirement lives

• To support people to • To reward and have a working life recognise work

• To set eligibility criteria • To encourage people for minimum public to take up paid work pension on the basis of people’s work history

• To provide the • To reward opportunities for and recognise people to choose a informal care caring or working life • To reward and recognise work

• To calculate public pension entitlements based on people’s extent of participation in formal employment and the provision of informal care in the family

• To support people to • To reduce informal • Early retirement detach both from a care responsibilities schemes caring and a working • To reduce work life

• To encourage people to take part in work economy • To encourage people to provide informal care • To financially support retirees to choose to retire from the work economy or the provision of informal care in the family

• To support people to • To reduce and • To subsidise parents of • To assist people to shift from a working redistribute work newborn children to shift their attachment life to a caring life contribute to pension temporarily from schemes for a short a working life to a period caring life

The two supported adult models Pension measures have the potential to strengthen the supported adult carer model and the supported adult worker model. Measures that reward or recognise informal care (such as giving pension credits to providers of childcare in the family) can uphold the supported adult carer model. Together with subsidised childcare leave, they can support people to shift from a working life to a caring life on a temporary basis. Measures that reward or recognise work (such as those using people’s level of participation in formal employment as the eligibility criteria for accessing minimum pension and the basis for calculating the amount of public pension they receive) can serve to uphold the supported adult worker model. The supported adult worker model can also be reinforced by measures that create the favourable conditions for people to participate in work-​based 98

Pension measures

pension schemes. In this book, these measures are called ‘complementary measures to pensions’. It is important to note that pension measures, especially earning-​related schemes, provide a link between work and retirement. To secure sufficient pension incomes for a reasonable standard of living independently of participation in the labour market in the later parts of life, individuals may need to work in most of their adulthood and make sufficient contributions to the pension schemes. Raising the pension age carries a message that people need to spend more years in their working lives before they can receive the financial support from public pensions. However, it is one thing to encourage people to take part and stay longer in formal employment; providing people with the resources needed to do so might be quite another. To secure a foothold in the work economy, people need time, job skills and other conditions. These resources do not come with pension policies. Instead, they are under other policy domains such as the ALMPs (details in Chapter 6), childcare leave measures and ECEC (as discussed in Chapter 4). These measures can serve as examples of the complementary measures to pensions. These measures are not usually seen as related to pension policies; nonetheless, they create favourable conditions for people to take part in the work economy and accumulate pension incomes through the work-​based pension schemes. To provide people with more opportunities to benefit from policy measures under the supported adult carer model or the supported adult worker model, governments may calculate entitlement to public pensions based on two criteria: people’s participation in formal employment, and their contribution to the provision of informal care. Generous early retirement schemes can fulfil the same purpose. These schemes can assist people approaching retirement age to choose to use these pension incomes to finance them to play the role of informal care provider or to choose not to receive the pension incomes but continue to work.

Pension measures in the seven countries and territories This section discusses important pension policy measures in the seven countries and territories. These measures are shown in Tables 5.2–​5.7. Tables 5.8 and 5.9 show different age groups’ labour force participation rates in these countries and territories. In most of the seven countries and territories, there are public pension measures that encourage people to engage in the labour force. Governments in most of these countries and territories see contributing to the pension schemes as an important condition for a minimum pension (see Table 5.3). For example, both France and the UK require people to make contributions to the pension scheme for at least ten years before they can get a pro-​rata pension; both Hungary and South Korea ask 99

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 5.2: Benefit calculation methods for public pensions –​various years Country/​ Key features of the Benefit calculation methods territory public pension schemes France

The pension system has two public mandatory tiers: • a defined benefit public pension; • an occupational scheme based on a points system.

1. Defined benefit public pension • This scheme has a payment rate of 50% of the retirees’ annual average earnings after a full career. • For each missing quarter (three months), the pension amount is reduced pro rata of the missing contributory period to reach the full contributory period (0.58%) (=​1/​N) for one missing quarter –​N being the number of quarters for a full career. • The pension amount is also reduced by 1.25% per missing quarter if the individual decides to retire before the full-​rate pension age. 2. The occupational scheme • Each year, the number of points earned is the value of contributions divided by the cost of a pension point. At retirement, the accumulated number of points is converted into a pension benefit by multiplying them by the value of a pension point.

Germany • The statutory public pension system is a single tier and is an earnings-​related pay-​ as-​you-​go system. Calculation of pension is based on pension points.

• A year’s contribution at the average earnings of contributors earns one pension point. • Contributions are based on the levels of income –​ that is, lower or higher incomes earn proportionately less or more pension points. • At retirement, the pension points of every year are summed. • To calculate the amount of the yearly pension, the sum of pension points is multiplied by an annual pension point value, which is adjusted annually in relation to the gross wage growth as a starting point.

Hong Kong

• No public pension scheme. • The Mandatory Provident Fund, a compulsory saving scheme, provides limited retirement protection.

• The Mandatory Provident Fund requires each employer and employee to contribute normally 5% of the employee’s salaries to a compulsory saving scheme managed by private investment organisations.

Hungary

• The pension system is a mandatory, uniform, defined benefit pay-​as-​ you-​go system with an earnings-​related public pension.

• Earnings-​related pensions are calculated at 33% of the average earnings for the first ten years of coverage. • Each additional year of coverage adds 2% from years 11 to 25. • 1% from the working years 26 to 36. • 1.5% from the working year of 37 to the year 40 and 2% thereafter.

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Pension measures Table 5.2: Benefit calculation methods for public pensions –​various years (continued) Country/​ Key features of the Benefit calculation methods territory public pension schemes South Korea

• The public pension is mainly an earnings-​ related scheme. • Benefits are based on both individual earnings and the average earnings of the insured as a whole. • In addition, a basic age pension is provided.

1. Earnings-​related pension • The pension income entitlement is calculated as half of the targeted rate times the individual’s lifetime average earnings valorised in line with nominal wage growth and half of the average earnings of the insured measured over the previous three years and valorised in line with prices. 2. Basic age pension • Most people aged 65 and over can get this pension. The maximum benefit offered by this pension is about 10% of the three-​year average earnings of the insured of the national pension.

Sweden

The public pension is made up of three elements: • income pension: a pay-​as-​you-​ go earnings-​ related scheme; • premium pension: a mandatory, provident-​ funded, defined contributory pension; • guarantee pension: a state-​funded pension to ensure that people who have had very little or no income have an income when they retire.

1. The earnings-​related scheme • Contributions of 18.5% of pensionable pay are credited and then uprated in line with a three-​year moving average of economy-​wide average earnings. • 16% out of the 18.5% goes to the income pension. • The income pension uses notional accounts. These accounts are increased every year by the distribution of the pension balances of deceased individuals of the same age as the survivors. • At retirement, the accumulated notional capital will be converted into an annuity. 2. Defined contribution • 2.5% of the 18% of the pensionable income goes to the premium pension. • Individuals can decide how the money should be placed. • At retirement, individuals have a choice over the way benefits are withdrawn. 3. Guarantee pension • The guarantee pension can be seen as an income-​ tested top-​up pension benefit for individuals.

UK

• The State Pension system is a flat-​ rate scheme. It is supplemented by the workplace private pension provision.

1. A flat-​rate scheme • In 2018/​19, the full rate of new State Pension was GBP 164.35 per week. • People are required to make 35 years of contributions to receive a full new State Pension amount. 2. Workplace private pension provision • Since 2018, all employers have been legally required to enrol all eligible workers into a qualifying workplace scheme.

Source: OECD, 2019a; Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, 2021 (compiled by the authors).

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Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

for a minimum of 20 years of contribution. It is evident that the ways the seven governments calculate the public pension benefits favour the participants of formal employment (see Table 5.2). In Germany, a year’s contribution at the average earnings of contributors earns one pension point. In Hungary, earnings-​related pensions are calculated at 33 per cent of the average earnings for the first ten years of cover. Hong Kong does not provide any public pension schemes, but most workers are required to contribute 5 per cent of their income to a compulsory saving scheme known as the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF). Their employers are required to contribute another 5 per cent of their income to the MPF. MPF participants are allowed to withdraw their saving in a lump sum at the age of 65. There are differences in pension ages between countries and territories (see Table 5.4). In Hungary, the standard retirement age was 63.5 years in 2018. It will be increased to 65 in 2022. Sweden increased the age of the guaranteed pension from 65 to 66 in 2019. The pension age in South Korea will be increased from 62 to 63 in 2033. France and Germany will increase the retirement age to 67 in the near future. The pension age in the UK will be increased from 66 to 67 in 2028. The early retirement policies carried out by the seven governments are not quite the same (see Table 5.5). France, Germany, Hungary, South Korea and Sweden have early retirement policies. The UK government does not allow early claims to state pensions. Hong Kong does not offer any early retirement scheme, although people can apply to stop making contributions to the MPF if they leave the job market early. They are also allowed to apply for the MPF withdrawals if they reach the age of 60 and have ceased all employment and self-​employment, or if they permanently leave Hong Kong or suffer from total incapacity or terminal illness. All the countries and territories except Hong Kong allow their citizens to apply for late retirement (see Table 5.6). Most countries offer additional benefits for late retirees’ additional service time. South Korea provides the most generous offer as it gives a 7.2 per cent increase in pension for every year above the normal retirement age. In Hong Kong, people can continue to contribute to the MPF after the age of 65 but the government does not give them any financial subsidies. All countries and territories except Hong Kong have some arrangements of pension contribution when parents are looking after their young children (see Table 5.7). For instance, the UK government provides National Insurance credits under the new state pension to parents who are not in paid work or are working with earnings below a certain level. Other countries provide childcare credits for different periods of time and at different levels.

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Pension measures Table 5.3: Eligibility criteria for a minimum pension/​alternative –​various years Country/​territory

Eligibility criteria for a minimum pension/​alternative

France

• It is possible to claim a pro-​rata pension after working for at least ten years. • Since 2012, retirees must normally work for at least 42 years before claiming a full state pension.

Germany

• The regular old-​age pension is payable from age 65 and 6/​7 months with at least five years’ contributions.

Hong Kong

• There is no minimum saving policy in the Mandatory Provident Fund. Employees can get back what their employers and they have contributed to the Fund plus any profits earned from the investment of the saving.

Hungary

• In order to be eligible for a minimum pension from the first pillar, beneficiaries must have a contribution history of at least 20 years.

South Korea

• The old-​age pension scheme provides lifetime cover for individuals aged 60 or above, provided that they have met the minimum requirement of 20 years of contributions to the national pension scheme.

Sweden

• Eligibility for proportionally reduced guaranteed pensions requires three years’ residency. • A maximum guarantee pension benefit requires 40 years of residency.

UK

• To receive a pro-​rata pension, people are required to make at least ten years’ contribution.

Source: OECD, 2019a; Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, 2021 (compiled by the authors).

Table 5.4: Pension age reforms –​various years Country/​territory

Pension age

France

The 2010 reform planned a gradual increase of pension age of full-​ rate pension from 65 to 67 by 2023.

Germany

The statutory retirement age is to be increased to 67 by 2029.

Hong Kong

There is no official pension age. 65 is commonly seen as a retirement age because people are not legally required to contribute to the Mandatory Provident Fund.

Hungary

The standard retirement age will rise to 65 by 2033.

South Korea

The retirement age will rise to 65 by 2033.

Sweden

The earliest age for withdrawing the earnings-​related national pension will rise from 62 to 63 in 2023.

UK

The State Pension age will be increased from 66 to 67 in 2028.

Source: OECD, 2019a; Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, 2021 (compiled by the authors).

103

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 5.5: Early retirement policy measures –​various years Country/​ territory

Early retirement policy measures

Remark

France

• Early retirement is allowed at the age of 60 in the public pension scheme for people with full contributory periods and who started to work before the age of 20.

N/​a

Germany

• Early retirement is possible at the age of 63 • In the worst-​case scenario for persons with an insurance record of at (retiring 48 months before least 35 years. the retiring age), there • If retiring before the statutory retirement would be a deduction age (age of 67 for those born 1964 or later), of 14.4% of the pension benefits are permanently reduced by 3.6% entitlement. for each missing year.

Hong Kong

• Contributors are allowed to get back the N/​a Mandatory Provident Fund saving in a lump sum after the age of 60 if they have an acceptable reason. The age of 60 can be considered as an early retirement age.

Hungary

• A worker can choose to retire as early as 62 N/​a but this decision may lead to a reduction of as much as 30% of the pension income.

South Korea

• The early retirement pension decreases the • The early retirement pension benefit by 6% for every year below benefit will be equal to the normal retirement age. 70% of the old-​age pension if the benefit is withdrawn five years earlier. • The early retirement age is increasing from 55 years to 60 years in 2033.

Sweden

• Earnings-​related pension benefit withdrawal N/​a is allowed from the age of 61 in the national pension scheme.

UK

• The State Pension does not allow claims before the pension age.

N/​a

Source: OECD, 2019a; Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, 2021 (compiled by the authors).

Implications for promoting the two supported adult models This section is concerned with the implications of studying the pension measures of the seven countries and territories. Its focus is on the strengths and limitations of these measures in enhancing the coordination between the two supported adult models, and the resulting negative welfare outcomes.

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Pension measures Table 5.6: Late retirement policy measures –​various years Country/​ territory

Late retirement policy measures

Remark

France

When people reach the qualifying contributory conditions for a full pension (41.5 years for people born in 1957), each additional quarter subject to contributions increases the benefit under the public scheme by 1.25% (5% per year).

N/​a

Germany

Postponing the retirement age will yield a higher N/​a pension accrual of 0.5% for each month worked after the statutory retirement age.

Hong Kong

People are legally allowed to keep the saving in the MPF account, and the saving will continuously be used as an investment.

There is no guarantee to earn extra money from the investment.

Hungary

The pension is increased by 0.5% for each month of additional service time.

N/​a

South Korea

Pension deferral is possible and increases the The pension benefit pension by 7.2% for every year above the normal can be deferred for a retirement age. maximum of five years.

Sweden

It is possible to defer the income pension and the premium pension with no upper age limit, with automatic actuarial adjustments.

N/​a

UK

The basic State Pension increases by 1% for every five weeks the user defers.

N/​a

Source: OECD, 2019a; Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, 2021 (compiled by the authors).

Upholding the supported adult worker model Most of the seven governments provide examples of pension measures that base the eligibility criteria for minimum pension on people’s participation in formal employment and calculate the level of entitlement to public pensions based on people’s work history. Most of them also raise the pension age to extend people’s working lives. These measures have both strengths and limitations in upholding the supported adult worker model. These measures convey a message that adults should take part in the work economy and engage in the labour force until the pension age. However, the implementation of these measures is insufficient to guarantee people’s participation in formal employment. If people fail to secure a foothold in the work economy, they may not have access to public pension. Table 5.8 shows that women in most of the seven countries and territories have a lower labour participation rate than men in all age ranges. Moreover, both men and women in the age group of 55 to 65 have lower labour participation rates than the age group of 25 to 54. Women aged 55 to 65 have a particularly 105

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 5.7: Arrangements of pension contributions for childcare support –​various years Country/​territory Childcare France

• For children born or adopted since 2010, a credit of four quarters is given to the mother for each of her children in the defined-​benefit scheme, whether she continues to work or not during that time. • A credit of four other quarters is given to one of the parents (or split between the two parents) for the education of each child.

Germany

• For children born in 1992 or later, one parent is credited for a period of three years with one pension point per year. • There are also credits for periods caring for children up to age ten. These years are considered as qualifying periods for a pension.

Hong Kong

• No arrangement is available.

Hungary

• Pension contributions have to be paid after the following benefits: childcare fee, childcare allowance and child-​raising support. These benefits will be taken into account for the pension-​based calculation in case the amounts of these benefits are favourable for the insured person.

South Korea

• The childcare credit is given to insured women who give birth to a child or the baby’s father, except for the first child. • The credits are given for 12 months up to a maximum of 50 months depending on the number of children.

Sweden

• Years are credited under the public pension scheme for any period when people have and live with children aged four or below. • In a household with two parents, the credits go to the parent with the lowest income if an active choice is not made.

UK

• National Insurance credits for the new State Pension provide protection for periods of childcare. This covers both people not in paid work and those working with earnings below the lower earnings limit.

Source: OECD, 2019a; Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, 2021 (compiled by the authors).

low labour participation rate. These figures suggest that it is not easy for people in these age and gender groups to accumulate pension incomes through work-​based pension measures. Some recent studies show a steady increase in the participation rate of middle-​aged and older people in the paid labour market. For example, the employment rate among people aged 55 to 64 grew by more than 17 per cent, from 42.9 per cent in 2000 to 61.5 per cent in 2018 in OECD countries (OECD, 2019a). However, this figure is still lower than those of either men or women between the ages of 25 and 54, as shown in Table 5.8. Upholding the supported adult carer model The supported adult carer model can be strengthened by childcare leave measures and early retirement schemes. Chapter 4 has pointed out that the 106

Pension measures Table 5.8: Labour force participation rate in different age groups –​2019 Country/​territory Labour force participation rate by gender and age 2019 Male

Female

Age 15–​24 Age 25–​54 Age 55–​64 Age 15–​24 Age 25–​54 Age 55–​64 France

39.8

91.9

59.4

34.0

83.1

54.6

Germany

54.2

92.7

79.4

48.4

83.3

70.0

Hungary

37.2

93.4

70.6

26.9

80.6

47.2

Korea

26.0

89.8

81.1

32.9

67.8

57.0

Sweden

53.6

93.6

84.2

55.9

88.7

79.0

UK

61.9

92.0

73.3

60.0

81.5

63.1

Mean

45.3

92.2

74.7

43.0

80.3

61.8

Source: OECD, 2020b

Table 5.9: Labour force participation rate –​Hong Kong –​2019 Hong Kong –​Labour force participation rate (2019) Male –​ overall

Female –​ overall

Age 15–​24

Age 25–​44

Age 45–​64

67.5%

55.0%

40.2%

85.7%

68.6%

Source: Census and Statistics Department, 2020c

adequately paid childcare leave measures reinforce the supported adult carer model because they give users time and resources to take care of their young children. The chapter also highlights that Germany, South Korea and Sweden are more committed to the provision of childcare leave benefits and ECEC than the rest of the seven countries and territories. All three of them provide a ‘measure overlapping period’ in which parents are entitled to some weeks of paid childcare leave even though a place in publicly subsidised ECEC is guaranteed. These three countries also further strengthen the importance of the measure overlapping period through the provision of pension measures. In Sweden, years are credited under the public pension scheme for any period when people have and live with children aged four or below. In Germany, one parent is credited for a period of three years with one pension point per year. In South Korea, credits are given to parents for 12 months. The details are in Table 5.7. These practices show that parents in these three countries are not only given subsidies to take care of their very young children but are also guaranteed contributions to pension schemes during their time off for looking after children. Five countries (France, Germany, Hungary, South Korea and Sweden) provide early retirement measures, which enhance people’s chances of 107

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

choosing to take part in a caring life in their early old age –​for instance, to look after their grandchildren or ageing parents or spouses. However, the effects of the early retirement measures on the development of the supported adult carer model should not be overestimated. Some countries such as France and Germany require people to work for a long period or have a long period of making contributions to the pension schemes before they become eligible to join the early retirement scheme. Moreover, the applicants of the early retirement pension scheme have to accept a deducted pension income. In Germany, if people apply for the early retirement pension schemes, their benefits will be permanently reduced by 3.6 per cent for each year in which pensioners fall short of the statutory retirement age. In South Korea, the early retirement pension reduces the pension benefits by 6 per cent for every year below the normal retirement age. These deduction policies may deter people from claiming the pension income early. The details can be seen in Table 5.5.

Life-​mix challenges Because of the inadequacies of the pension measures provided by the seven governments in promoting the coordination between the two supported adult models, the three kinds of life-​mix challenges (life-​mix relational constraints, life-​mix material gaps and user deficits) are likely to arise. Life-​mix relational constraints Governments in the seven countries and territories do not give the same support to different life-​mix patterns. Some pension measures favour those who are willing and able to work and guarantee them a certain amount of pension income when they retire. Those who leave the work economy for a short period for taking care of their young children also receive similar protection from public pension schemes. Pension measures are less supportive to those who experience long-​term unemployment, especially in the later parts of their lives, and those who prefer to take up a caring life. As a result, these people are vulnerable to old-​age poverty and/​or relational challenges. Life-​mix material gaps Previous chapters have discussed the concept of life-​mix material gaps with reference to people’s earlier parts of adulthood. This chapter provides a more detailed analysis of this concept with reference to people’s later phases of adulthood. The focus is on three potential retirement life-​mix material gaps: the ‘working life–​retirement material gap’, the ‘caring life–​retirement material gap’ and the ‘mixed life–​retirement material gap’. The main 108

Pension measures

difference between these three life stage gaps lies in the life tasks conducted by people before they retire. People falling into the ‘working life–​retirement material gap’ are those who suffer from a lack of sufficient financial resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living after they move from the life-​mix pattern of being a worker to being a retiree. People may be able to avoid this gap if two conditions are met –​they earn sufficient income from the work economy to maintain a reasonable standard of living before retirement, and they have accumulated sufficient pension incomes to secure a decent retirement life. Such an ideal situation may not exist because of two reasons. Some people may have a long period or periods of unemployment before retirement age and therefore could not enjoy a reasonable living standard during their adult lives; nor could they accumulate enough in their pension pots to secure decent retirement income. Some people may spend most of their adult lives as workers and make substantial contributions to work-​related pension schemes, but there is still a big difference between their pre-​retirement salaries and pension incomes. This leads to a big gap between the quality of their lives before and after retirement. The ‘caring life–​retirement material gap’ is faced by people who spend most of their adult lives as informal care providers in the family. As most conventional pension schemes are work-​related and therefore often overlook the needs of informal care providers, they do not always provide them with sufficient income protection in their old age. These people may receive financial support from their family when they are playing the role of informal care providers, but they may not receive the same help when they no longer play the role. This could be due to circumstances such as the children have grown up or no longer need care, carers are unable to carry on due to poor health and/​or the financial providers can no longer provide the support as usual (for example, due to retirement). A lack of sufficient financial support makes it difficult for them to maintain a reasonable standard of living. The ‘mixed life–​retirement material gap’ is faced by people whose participation in formal employment has been frequently disrupted in the pre-​retirement period because they need to take care of their family members at different times during their working age. Their disrupted careers may not allow them to accumulate sufficient pension incomes for retirement. As a result, they may not have sufficient financial resources to maintain a decent retirement life. The discussion of the three types of retirement material gaps provides insights into the analysis of life-​mix and the two supported adult worker models. First, the way people organise their life-​mix patterns affects their chances of facing the retirement material gaps. Since many pension policies (such as those carried out by the seven governments) give workers more pension protection than informal care providers and determine pension 109

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

entitlements according to people’s pre-​retirement incomes, those who spend most of their time in a caring life are more likely to face the retirement material gap. It is evident that the pension gap between men and women is a serious problem across countries. In the EU-​28, women’s average pensions were 25 per cent lower than the average pension for men in 2015 (OECD, 2019a). The gender pension gap was more than 40 per cent in countries such as Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands (OECD, 2019a). An important reason is that many women have a broken career. Due to family care responsibilities, women often have less involvement in the paid labour market than men when they are in their working age (Tinios et al, 2015). This makes women more vulnerable to the retirement material gaps. Second, the government is not the only sector to safeguard people against the retirement material gaps. If the family can provide its members with sufficient financial support (no matter what roles they play in the family) to maintain a standard of living before and after retirement, people can be immune to any retirement material gap. However, not all families could meet this expectation. Family financial providers may face challenges in their working lives too. For instance, they may lose their jobs or businesses due to personal reasons or economic crises, such as the one triggered by the COVID-​19 pandemic. As mentioned previously, some age groups, such as those aged from 55 to 64, are more vulnerable to unemployment (see Table 5.8). Therefore, governments have an important role to play in reducing the potential retirement material gap for informal care providers. If governments are more willing to assist family care providers to accumulate pension incomes by supporting their contributions to pension schemes, the number of people could be reduced who are experiencing the material gap between a caring life and retirement. Third, as mentioned in Chapter 4, one life-​mix material gap may have a knock-​on effect on another. The debate on motherhood penalty shows that before facing the mixed life–​retirement material gap in the later parts of their lives, many women have experienced other life-​mix material gaps. The care responsibilities on most mothers make it difficult for them to stay in the labour market to earn sufficient financial resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living during their working age and to stay long enough to accumulate sufficient pension savings for the future (Phillipson, Vickerstaff and Lain, 2016). To build a fairer pension system, it is necessary to avoid privileging the ‘idealised’ worker who is able to perform an expected, masculinised occupational life course (Grady, 2015). The fact that women’s records of employment are likely to be shorter, more interrupted and in lower-​paid jobs should not be overlooked (Foster, 2012a; Vlachantoni, 2012). In order to ensure that women can have sufficient pension incomes for retirement, it is important to offer more assistance to them to deal with different life-​mix gaps –​for example, a more even allocation of unpaid work 110

Pension measures

between men and women in the family and treating unpaid work with respect (Frericks, Knijn and Maier, 2009; Foster, 2014). Fourth, it is important to have concerns not only about informal care providers but also about informal care receivers. Chapter 4 has stressed that when formulating the childcare leave and ECEC policies, governments should consider both the needs of the parents (as informal care providers) and the needs of their children (as receivers of both formal and informal care). Following the same logic, in assisting retirees to choose whether to continue to participate in a caring life, the government should also pay attention to the needs of care receivers in their families –​such as spouses, elderly parents, grandchildren and adult children with care needs. In order to make it easier for care receivers to organise their lives in the way they prefer, it is necessary to give them more opportunities and practical support to choose between formal care or informal care. To do so, governments may need to provide retirees who have caring responsibilities with generous pension incomes to allow them to outsource the caring responsibilities to the private sector, if these governments are not able to provide the necessary support to meet the needs of the care receivers. Fifth, whether and how governments assist retirees to tackle the retirement material gaps may reflect their views on the issue concerning the improvement in people’s remaining life expectancy after the age of 65. Many government policies (such as those about raising the retirement age) suggest that having a longer life means that people need to work longer in order to maintain pension adequacy and financial sustainability (OECD, 2019a). This view provides justifications for pro-​work pension reform measures but is not sensitive to the diverse experiences and life-​mix preferences of older people. People living longer may not necessarily be able or willing to spend more time on paid work. Studies show that the job market does not necessarily welcome older workers (Walker and Maltby, 2012; Chau, Foster and Yu, 2016). Even if some older people are willing to work, they may not be able to find a decent paid job. Furthermore, having a longer life does not necessarily mean having a longer healthy life. The concept of lost health expectancy refers to the relative difference between life expectancy and health life expectancy, expressed as a percentage of life expectancy at birth (UN, 2020). The lost health expectancy of the seven countries and territories is shown as follows –​Germany: 14.1 per cent; France: 13.7 per cent; Hong Kong: no data available; Hungary: 12.8 per cent; South Korea: 12.8 per cent; Sweden: 13.8 per cent; the UK: 14.8 per cent. This means older people’s health declines at some point of their later lives, which makes continuous involvement in the labour market difficult. Last but not least, there is a lack of sufficient discussion of the importance of giving respect to older people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix. Having a longer life should not be seen as a challenge (or burden) to society; it 111

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

should be seen as an achievement. Based on the ideas of inclusive growth (as seen in Chapters 1 and 2), everybody (no matter their age, gender or other attributes) should have a fair share of the fruits of the economic and social growth of society. To do so, more opportunities and support should be given to people to choose how to organise their later parts of life rather than focusing only on dealing with the financial requirements related to pension policy measures. User deficits Governments’ attempts to increase the pension age are likely to create more user deficits. Any rise in the pension age could mean an increase in people’s opportunity cost to receive a public pension. For instance, people in countries such as France, Germany and Hungry can receive government support to have early retirement, but they have to pay the cost of not getting the full amount of pension but receiving pension incomes at various deducted rates. Women are more likely than men to face a user deficit. This is because they have more difficulties in taking part in formal employment with reasonable pay, and may face a long period of poverty before they can receive public pensions.

Suggestions for further improvement To reduce people’s chances of facing life-​mix challenges, it is worth using the ‘not-​yet approach’ to explore the near-​future goal in the domain of pensions. In relation to this point, we stress providing people with the opportunity and support to choose to continue to work or to provide informal care to their families at the later stages of their lives as the near-​future goal. Based on the examination of the pension measures implemented by the seven governments, the conditions in favour of meeting this near-​future goal are identified as follows: • provision of generous earlier retirement schemes for both men and women (these measures enable users to choose to play the role of informal care provider in the family and maintain a reasonable standard of living); • provision of generous late retirement schemes for both men and women (these measures give incentives to users to continue to work beyond the standard retirement age). All the seven governments have laid down foundations (of different degrees) for creating these conditions. Nonetheless, they need to do more through pension reforms. Using Hong Kong as an example, the MPF could be further developed in the following ways: 112

Pension measures

• to subsidise MPF users aged 55 or above to purchase an annuity which guarantees users a monthly income amount of 60 per cent of the median income or more; • to give financial subsidies to those people aged 65 or older who still want to work and contribute to the MPF. The Hong Kong government may not easily be convinced to carry out these reforms. Guaranteeing MPF participants a regular pension income regardless of their contribution to the Fund gives significant challenges to the ideas of commodity relationships. The Hong Kong government is commonly known as the defender of capitalism (Walker and Wong, 2005; Yu, Chau and Kühner, 2018). It may not be willing to make this guarantee. Despite that, it is worth putting the suggested reforms on the policy agenda. By doing so, a debate could arise on these issues: • how to use pension measures to help people to avoid the life-​ mix challenges; • how to use pension measures as an effective means to promote protected autonomy in life-​mix; • how the pension gap between men and women can be reduced.

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6

Policy case study: active labour market policies and alternatives Introduction This chapter focuses on ALMPs and the alternative policies that are intended to promote employment opportunities for jobseekers, increase the probability of unemployed workers returning to work and improve matching between jobs and workers (Bruno and Rovelli, 2010; Immervoll and Scarpetta, 2012; Deidda et al, 2015; Anna and Slavomíra, 2017; EC, 2017). ALMPs are often regarded as an instrument for helping people reduce their periods of unemployment (EC, 2005). There are different ALMPs, ranging from the provision of training for the unemployed to job creations (EC, 2017). There is also a wide range of alternative measures to ALMPs. Some (such as unemployment insurance benefits) focus on the significance of assisting unemployed individuals to maintain a reasonable standard of living without taking part in formal employment within a certain period (Asenjo and Pignatti, 2019). Some (such as job protection legislation) stress the importance of preventing individuals from facing involuntary detachment from their working lives (Fadejeva, 2019). This chapter is organised into five parts. The first shows how ALMPs and their alternatives serve as different life-​mix tactics forming different types of policies on productivism. The second part examines the implications of governments’ commitments to the provision of ALMPs and their alternatives for the development of the supported adult carer model and the supported adult worker model. The third part discusses comparative data concerning ALMPs and their alternatives in the seven countries and territories. The fourth part is concerned with the implications of the ALMPs and alternative policies on the development of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. The final part explores ways for enhancing the development of the two supported adult models.

Active labour market policies and alternatives Some ALMPs serve to recognise the importance of work, such as career counselling and job search assistance, employment incentives, job creation schemes, training, start-​up incentives, and supported employment and rehabilitation. The purpose of counselling and job search assistance measures is to identify jobs available in the labour market for the unemployed. These 114

Active labour market policies and alternatives

measures have the potential to speed up the process of finding a suitable job (Bergemann and Van den Berg, 2006) and are often seen as useful instruments for tackling short-​term unemployment (EC, 2005). Training (such as on-​the-​job training and vocational training) serves to increase people’s productivity and employability (Kluve, 2006). It is commonly seen as an effective tool for making longer-​term investment in human resources (Anna and Slavomíra, 2017). Studies show that offering training to encourage people, especially women, to take part in formal employment is effective even where people’s previous labour force participation has been low (Kring, 2017). Employment incentives are made up of measures aimed at creating incentives to alter employers’ and/​or workers’ behaviours in private sector employment (Kluve, 2006; Sahnoun and Abdennadher, 2018). Examples of these incentives are direct wage subsidies and social security payment offsets (Betcherman et al, 2000). Employment incentives can be used to facilitate the hiring of jobseekers. For instance, employers can provide prospective employees with a probationary period at lower than full-​wage costs to find out if they are suitable for the jobs. In addition, they can maintain employment for those who are at risk of losing their jobs (Sahnoun and Abdennadher, 2018). Supported employment and rehabilitation serve to promote the integration of people with reduced work capacity into the labour market. Job creation schemes are commonly used for helping the medium-​and longer-​term unemployed (Sahnoun and Abdennadher, 2018). These schemes are seen as an important tool for providing income transfers to the poor through employment (Kring, 2017). Jobs are often created for people with disabilities to help them to attach to a working life. This practice is closely related to the implementation of rehabilitation programmes, which also implies a growing awareness of sickness and disability as a significant labour market issue (Immervoll and Scarpetta, 2012). Start-​up incentives function to encourage unemployed people and other target groups to set up their businesses and become independent entrepreneurs and employers (Sahnoun and Abdennadher, 2018). These incentives can also assist unemployed people to seek self-​employment, and thus play both the roles of employer and employee. Job protection legislations, unemployment insurances and make-​work-​ pay measures, as alternatives to ALMPs, also recognise the importance of work but with a different focus. Job protection legislations serve to reduce people’s chances of involuntary detachment from work (for example, through dismissal). Unemployment benefits can fulfil two purposes. First, they can provide direct support to those who suffer from a loss of income during a period of unemployment (which also serves as a financial stabiliser for the economy as a whole). Second, they give people the incentives to search for 115

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

jobs by basing eligibility for benefits on the users’ willingness to return to the job market. An example of the make-​work-​pay measures is the statutory minimum wage policy. These measures have the potential both to ensure that people in employment can maintain a reasonable standard of living and to encourage unemployed people who want to improve their lives to seek jobs (Chau, Yu and Boxall, 2018). Early retirement schemes are another alternative to ALMPs. Examples of these schemes are lump sum payments for pensioners and the survivors’ pension (Sahnoun and Abdennadher, 2018). Unlike the job protection legislations, unemployment insurance and make-​work-​pay measures, early retirement schemes serve to reduce work and enable unemployed people to maintain a reasonable standard of living without taking part in the work economy. How different ALMPs and alternatives can reinforce different life-​mix tactics and policy strategies on productivism is shown in Table 6.1. For example, to support people to return to a working life, governments can recognise work by providing a range of supply-​led and demand-​led policy measures; to support people to stay in a working life, governments can recognise and reward work by providing policy measures such as make-​ work-​pay; to support people to lead a caring life, governments can reduce their work by providing policy measures such as early retirement schemes.

Two supported adult models Governments’ commitments to the provision of ALMPs and their alternatives have different implications for the development of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. Almost all ALMPs which support jobseekers and unemployed people to seek jobs directly assist users to organise their lives based on the supported adult worker model. Examples are measures such as counselling and job search assistance, employment incentives, job creation schemes, training, start-​up incentives, supported employment and rehabilitation. If a government wants to support directly those in employment to continue to organise their lives based on the supported adult worker model, it can consolidate job protection legislations. The same purpose can be fulfilled by those measures that can guarantee workers sufficient rewards from their work (such as a high level of minimum wage and tax concession measures). Attempts to help unemployed people start businesses and provision of unemployment insurance benefits also indirectly reinforce the supported adult worker model. As people who run businesses create jobs for others and/​or for themselves, they will increase the number of people who organise their lives based on the supported adult worker model. If a government wants to ensure that unemployed people receive sufficient financial support to 116

Active labour market policies and alternatives Table 6.1: Policy strategies on productivism (in the domain of ALMPs) Policy strategies on productivism (aims)

Life-​mix tactics

Examples of Objectives of the policy measures policy measures (Demand-​led)* (Supply-​led)**

Support people Recognise Counselling to re-​attach to work and job search a working life assistance

Support people to remain attached to a working life

N/​a

Encourage workers to play an active role in searching for jobs

Employment incentives

Provide financial N/​a support to employers to employ more people

Job creation schemes

Increase the demand N/​a for labour by creating more jobs

Training

N/​a

Improve the quality of the labour force

Business start-​up Increase the incentives demands for labour by supporting more people to become employers

N/​a

Supported N/​a employment and rehabilitation

Enhance employability of people with special needs

Job protection legislations

Discourage employers from reducing the demand for labour

N/​a

Unemployment insurance

N/​a

Encourage workers to play an active role in searching for jobs

Recognise Make-​work-​pay and measures reward work

N/​a

Encourage workers to continue to take part in the work economy

N/​a

Financially enable workers to reduce their supply of labour

Support people Reduce to attach to a work caring life

Early retirement measures

Notes: *The demand-​led objectives are concerned with increasing the demand for labour. **The supply-​led objectives are concerned with increasing the quantity and quality of labour supply.

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Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

reconnect their lives with the supported adult worker model, it can provide them with generous unemployment insurance benefits. Enabling unemployed people to join early retirement schemes may give them the opportunity to associate their lives with the supported adult carer model. Given that they have more time and resources to organise their lives, they may have more options concerning whether and how to play the role of informal care provider in the family.

Active labour market policies and alternatives in the seven countries and territories This section discusses comparative data concerning the ALMPs and their alternatives in the seven countries and territories. These data cover a number of items: public employment services, training, employment incentives, sheltered and supported employment and rehabilitation, direct job creation, start-​up incentives, out-​of-​work income maintenance and support, early retirement, strictness of employment protection on individual and collective dismissals under regular contracts, real minimum wage and benefits in unemployment. There are important differences in the commitments to the provision of the ALMPs and their alternatives between the seven countries and territories. Table 6.2 shows the differences in the proportion of public expenditure to the GDP concerning various ALMPs between countries where data are available. For instance, the proportion of public expenditure on training in France is eight times more than that in Hungary. The proportion of public expenditure to GDP concerning direct job creation in Hungary is 20 times more than that in Germany. Tables 6.3 shows that France (with an index value of 2.68 in 2019) is more committed to the provision of employment protection for people with regular contracts than Hungary (index value at 1.89) and the UK (index value at 1.90). Similarly, France is the country with the highest index value (3.13 in 2019) in the employment protection for temporary contracts, as compared with the UK, which has the lowest value, of 0.54, among the countries and territories with available data (Table 6.4). Table 6.7 provides important data for the examination of the differences in the provision of unemployment benefits between the seven countries and territories. Unemployment benefits in France and Sweden are more generous than those in the rest of the seven countries and territories. The level of benefits for the unemployed is up to 64 per cent of the previous in-​work income up to 60 months in France. Sweden provides a benefit level of 69 per cent in the first two months and 59 per cent afterwards. As a result, recipients have more time and financial resources to search for a suitable job and/​or receive training during the period of unemployment. The UK government provides a low level of unemployment benefits –​a 118

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Table 6.2: Public expenditure on labour market policies –​2018 Public employment Training service and administration

Employment incentives

Sheltered and supported employment and rehabilitation

Direct job creation

Start-​up incentives

Out-​of-​ work income maintenance and support

Early retirement

France

0.24%

0.25%

0.03%

0.09%

0.11%

0.04%

1.90%

0.00 (n)

Germany

0.43%

0.18%

0.02%

0.02%

0.02%

0.01%

0.70%

0.00 (n)

Hong Kong

No available data

Hungary

0.06%

0.03%

0.13%

0.00 (n)

0.40%

0.02%

0.20%

0.00 (n)

South Korea

No available data

Sweden

0.28%

0.10%

0.49%

0.23%

0.00 (n)

0.01%

0.46%

0.00 (n)

UK

No available data

Notes: Public expenditure on each labour market policy is calculated as a percentage of GDP; n: nil or less than 0.005. Source: OECD statistics (2021a) (compiled by the authors)

Active labour market policies and alternatives

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Country

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 6.3: Index on strictness of employment protection –​individual and collective dismissals –​regular contracts –​2017–​19 Country/​territory

2017

2018

2019

France

2.79

2.68

2.68

Germany

2.33

2.33

2.33

Hong Kong

No available data

Hungary

1.77

1.89

1.89

South Korea

2.39

2.39

2.35

Sweden

2.54

2.54

2.54

UK

1.90

1.90

1.90

Notes: The strictness of the individual dismissal of workers on regular contracts (EPR) is measured by three areas of protection: procedural inconveniences, notice and severance pay and difficulty of dismissal. The procedural inconveniences include provisions on notification procedures, such as how dismissals have to be communicated and who has to be notified in order to carry out a dismissal. The notice and severance pay covers legal provisions on the length of the notice period and the extent of severance pay depending on the tenure. The difficulty of dismissal covers the definition of unfair dismissal, the period in which claims can be made, typical compensation after 20 years in a job, the possibility of reinstatement following an unfair dismissal and the maximum time period in which it can be claimed. Source: OECD, 2021b (compiled by the authors)

flat rate of 22 per cent. This policy practice reinforces the ‘work first’ principle. Given that the level of unemployment benefits is low, people are likely to be under financial pressure to get a job as soon as possible regardless of the suitability of that job to them. Hungary provides a high level of unemployment benefits (65 per cent) only for the first two months and drops the benefits to 12 per cent afterwards. This also conveys a message that people should re-​enter the job market as soon as possible. South Korea provides a high level of unemployment benefits for a longer period (six months at 80 per cent) than Hungary but a shorter period than France and Sweden. There is no unemployment benefit scheme in Hong Kong. Unemployed people in Hong Kong are expected to apply for a means-​tested social security measure entitled Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme (CSSA). This scheme does not solely target unemployed people; almost all people in poverty are eligible to apply for this scheme. Referring to examples provided by the Social Welfare Department (2018), the benefits received by households with three to five members with various financial circumstances and social care needs ranged from HKD11,413 to HKD17,823.5, which were far lower than the average household expenditure of HKD30,230 in 2019/​20 (Census and Statistics Department, 2021b).1 As the financial assistance provided by 120

Active labour market policies and alternatives Table 6.4: Index on strictness of employment protection –​temporary contracts –​ 2017–​19 Country/​territory

2017

2018

2019

France

3.13

3.13

3.13

Germany

1.75

1.92

1.92

Hong Kong

No available data

Hungary

2.00

2.00

2.00

South Korea

2.54

2.54

2.54

Sweden

1.67

1.67

1.67

UK

0.54

0.54

0.54

Notes: The regulations on temporary employment (EPT) are made up of eight items, which are grouped into two sub-​categories: the regulation of fixed-​term contracts (EPFTC), and the regulation of temporary work agencies (EPTWA). EPT is the average of EPFTC and EPTWA. EPFTC is indicated in terms of valid cases for the use of fixed-​term contracts, the maximum number of successive contracts and the maximum cumulated duration. EPTWA is indicated in terms of types of work which are legal, restrictions on the number of renewals, the maximum cumulated duration, the authorisation and reporting, and equal treatment. Source: OECD, 2021c (compiled by the authors)

CSSA may not be sufficient to help people with all the expenses or who live out of poverty (Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021), users are under pressure to look for a job within a short period of time. Long-​term unemployment is of particular concern to policy makers (The Canadian Press, 2013). It may not only cause material stress for those affected but also shows that there is a lack of effective measures for tackling this problem. Table 6.8 shows the long-​term unemployment rates. It suggests that France (38.8 per cent in 2019), Germany (38.1 per cent) and Hungary (32.9 per cent) face serious long-​term unemployment problems. The proportion of long-​term unemployed people to the total number of all unemployed people in these three countries is higher than the average of OECD countries, at 25.8 per cent. There are both similarities and differences in the ways of providing ALMP measures and alternatives between some of the seven countries and territories. An early retirement measure is not seen as an important ALMP measure. The differences in real minimum wages between countries and territories are shown in Table 6.5. The level of the minimum wage relative to the average wage of full-​time workers in the six countries and territories with available data is low –​it ranges from 0.4 to 0.6 in 2019 (Table 6.6). This implies that the protection provided by the minimum wage to the workers in these countries and territories is not sufficient. 121

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 6.5: Real minimum wages (hourly) –​2017–​19 Country/​territory

2017 (USD)

2018 (USD)

2019 (USD)

France

11.3

11.2

11.2

Germany

10.2

10.0

10.3

Hong Kong

4.166

4.423

4.807

Hungary

2.7

2.8

2.9

South Korea

5.7

6.5

7.2

10.1

10.4

Sweden UK

No available data 9.9

Notes: Real minimum wage (hourly) in Hong Kong refers to the statutory minimum wage. Sources: Labour Department, 2021; OECD, 2021d (compiled by the authors).

Table 6.6: Minimum wages/​average wages (full-​time workers) –​ 2017–​19 Country/​territory

2017

2018

2019

France

0.6

0.6

0.6

Germany

0.5

0.5

0.5

Hong Kong

0.3

0.4

0.4

Hungary

0.5

0.5

0.5

South Korea

0.5

0.6

0.6

Sweden

No available data

UK

0.5

0.5

0.6

Notes: The formula of calculating the minimum monthly wage of Hong Kong: 44 hours per week times four weeks times the statutory minimum hourly wage of the year. Sources: Census and Statistics Department, 2018; 2019a; 2019b; 2019d The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Press Release, 2020; OECD, 2021e (compiled by the authors).

Implications for the two supported adult models In view of the examples provided by the seven countries and territories, there is no guarantee that the ALMPs and alternatives actually delivered by these governments can adequately enhance either the supported adult worker model or the supported adult carer model. Unemployment is a barrier to the development of the supported adult worker model. It may also cause life-​mix challenges –​for example, people may change their role from being a worker to being involuntarily unemployed and may face a fall in their standard of living 122

Active labour market policies and alternatives Table 6.7: Benefits in unemployment (share of previous income) –​2020 or latest available Country/​territory

After two months

After six months

After 12 months

After 24 months

After 60 months

(% of previous in-​work income, 2020 or latest available) France

64.0%

64.0%

64.0%

64.0%

34.0%

Germany

59.0%

59.0%

59.0%

23.0%

23.0%

Hong Kong

No available data

Hungary

65.0%

12.0%

12.0%

12.0%

12.0%

South Korea

80.0%

80.0%

22.0%

22.0%

22.0%

Sweden

69.0%

59.0%

59.0%

59.0%

59.0%

UK

22.0%

22.0%

22.0%

22.0%

22.0%

Notes: The calculation is made with reference to a single person (without children) whose previous in-​work earnings were 67 per cent of the average wage. Source: OECD, 2020c (compiled by the authors)

Table 6.8: Long-​term unemployment rate –​2017–​19 Country/​territory

2017

2018

2019

France

44%

40.4%

38.8%

Germany

41.9%

41.4%

38.1%

3.1%

2.8%

2.9%

41.3%

Hong Kong Hungary

39.5%

32.9%

1.31%

1.4%

0.9%

16.81%

14.4%

12.1%

UK

25.92%

26.3%

25.1%

OECD average

29.6%

27.8%

25.8%

South Korea Sweden

Notes: Long-​term unemployment rate in the seven countries and territories (except Hong Kong) refers to the proportion of long-​term unemployed people to the total number of unemployed people. Hong Kong has its own definition of long-​term unemployment (please refer to Census and Statistics Department, 2021a). Sources: OECD, 2020d; Census and Statistics Department, 2021a (compiled by the authors)

in wake of their change in role from being a worker to being an unemployed person. To cope with this problem, governments may need to assist people to get back to the job that they want and provide them with adequate unemployment benefits. The inadequate provision of unemployment benefits 123

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provided by most of the seven governments and the work first principle promoted by most of them imply that people’s vulnerability to the life-​mix challenges are not necessarily reduced by the ALMPs. Even though some people receive a job, and successfully change their status from unemployed to worker, there is no guarantee that they can have a life free from the life-​mix material gap. This is because there is a lack of an effective policy guaranteeing them a reasonable level of wage. The absence of the early retirement measure targeted at the unemployed suggests that the seven governments are not very keen to promote the supported adult carer model through the ALMPs. As a result, the interests of those people who prefer to change their status from being unemployed to a provider of informal care in the family are not given sufficient considerations by these governments.

Suggestions for making further improvement As mentioned in the introduction, this chapter is concerned with how to make use of the ALMPs and the alternatives to enhance people’s opportunity for choosing to organise their lives based on policy measures under the supported adult worker model or the supported adult carer model. To fulfil this purpose, we make two suggestions. The first suggestion can be seen as a response to the index on quality of ALMPs prepared by the European Network of Public Employment Services (European Network of Public Employment Services, 2019). The second suggestion emphasises the importance of helping both workers and informal care providers to choose whether and how to organise their lives based on various forms of flexibility and security. Five issues concerning the relationship between active labour market policies and productivism Before discussing these two suggestions, this section highlights five issues concerning the relationship between ALMPs and productivism. As shown in the later parts of this section, the two suggestions are highly related to the discussion of these five issues. Issue one: relationships between the labour market and welfare regulations Whether and how governments provide ALMPs and alternatives is significantly affected by their views on the relationships between the labour market and welfare regulations. The welfare state has long been expected to reduce the dependency of citizens on the market for their well-​being through the provision of protection against market risks such as poverty and idleness (Walker, 1984; Esping-​Andersen, 1990; Burroni and Keune, 124

Active labour market policies and alternatives

2011). If a government is keen to meet this expectation on the welfare state, it is likely to provide measures such as early retirement schemes and unemployment insurance benefits which stress more meeting users’ financial needs than increasing users’ incentives to search for new jobs. However, not all governments provide ALMPs and alternatives simply for tackling market risks faced by individuals. Many governments provide social protection with the emphasis on the commodification of labour (Lewis and Plomien, 2009). This explains why they actively explore how to make use of the ALMPs to promote the concept ‘flexicurity’ (EC, 2013b) for individual workers and for the workforce collectively. For example, the government of Denmark regards the concept of flexicurity as entailing a golden triangle (Andersen, 2015) composed of the following elements: a flexible labour market with a high level of external numerical flexibility, a generous support scheme for the unemployed and ALMPs that stress both rights and obligations for the unemployed. The EC (2007) has stressed effective ALMPs as one of the four pillars for promoting flexicurity. The concept flexicurity is made up of two elements: ‘flexibility’ and ‘security’. Different analysts have different interpretations of these two elements (Viebrock and Clasen, 2009; Burroni and Keune, 2011), which provide insights into the analysis of the relative desirability of various ALMPs and alternatives. In discussing the concept of flexicurity, Wilthagen and Tros (2004) offered four types of flexibility: • external-​numerical flexibility: relating to hiring and firing workers and the use of flexible forms of labour contracts; • internal-​numerical flexibility: relating to working hours, overtime and part-​time work; • functional flexibility: relating to how the enterprises can adjust the skills of their employee to match changing working task requirements; • wage flexibility: relating to the abilities of enterprises to introduce variable pay based on performance. These four types of flexibility are widely discussed (Lewis and Plomien, 2009; Viebrock and Clasen, 2009). They show a variety of ways that employers manage human resources for the purpose of adjusting labour costs in response to the demands for products and services. Not all analysts study the concept of flexibility from the employers’ perspectives. In discussing this concept, Petre (2014, p 96) puts more emphasis on the individual changes made by people as she stresses this: ‘Flexibility reflects the changes (“transitions”) of achievements throughout the life: from school to the workplace, from one job to another, between unemployment or inactivity and the job, or from work to retirement.’ This quote enhances the awareness 125

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that the studies of flexibility are more than an examination of policies on human resources; it raises concerns about the life course of employees. For the benefit of employees, the following two issues are worth noting: • whether employees prefer and/​or are able to change their roles from time to time –​these roles include school leavers, workers, carers, unemployed, jobseekers and participants of vocational training and re-​training; • whether employees are able and/​or willing to adapt to the flexible employment strategy used by employers and can still maintain a reasonable standard of living. In addition to the four types of flexibility, Wilthagen et al (2003) presented four types of security: • job security: the certainty of retaining a specific job; • employment security: the certainty of remaining in paid work but not necessarily with the same employer; • income security: the certainty of receiving an adequate and stable level of income in the event that paid work is interrupted or terminated; • combination security: the certainty of being able to combine paid work with other social responsibilities such as care work. Two issues deserve attention. The first is concerned with the relative importance of different types of security. The second is concerned with who should be responsible for guaranteeing the four kinds of security. Different views on these two issues may lead to different understandings of the relative desirability of the various ALMPs and alternatives. For example, those who emphasise employment security and think that employees and the government should be responsible for guaranteeing this security are likely to support the supply approach to the ALMP measures, which emphasises the provision of training and assistance to jobseekers. Those who emphasise job security and think that employers and the government should be responsible for guaranteeing this kind of security are likely to support strict employment protection. People who favour the combination security and think that the government should be responsible for guaranteeing this kind of security are likely to support the provision of the work–​family reconciliation measures such as parental leave and ECEC. Issue two: concerns about flexibility and security issues faced by informal care providers Throughout this book, we stress that productivism is more than supporting people to take part in the work economy; it is also about people’s participation 126

Active labour market policies and alternatives

in the provision of care. Encouraging people to engage themselves in the labour force is not the only way to develop and use human capital to promote economic growth and productivity. Providing people with the opportunity to deliver informal care in the family should be treated with equal importance. Following this logic, the study of flexibility should cover more than the entry and exit of people from the labour market; it should also cover the changes in the roles relating to the provision of informal care in the family –​for example, ‘from informal care providers to workers’, ‘from workers to informal care providers’, ‘from employers to informal care providers’, ‘from employees to informal care providers’ and from ‘full-​time workers to part-​time informal care providers and part-​time workers’. Given that the study of flexicurity should stress both pro-​work and pro-​ care productivism, the study of security should therefore pay attention not only to the interest of employers and employees but also to the interests of informal care providers. So it is suggested that the following types of security should be explored: • specific caring relationship security of informal care providers: the certainty of involvement in a caring relationship with a particular care receiver (examples of policy measures to promote this type of security are legislations that support and/​or oblige people to provide informal care to a particular person); • caring role security of informal care providers: the certainty of having the opportunity to provide informal care in the family but not necessarily to the same care receiver (examples of policy measures to promote this type of security include training programmes for informal care providers); • income security of informal care providers: the certainty of receiving adequate financial support when the opportunity for playing the role of care provider no longer exists (examples of policy measures to promote this type of security include carers’ allowance); • ontological security of informal care providers:2 the informal care providers’ sense of order and continuity in regard to their individual experiences (examples of policy measures to promote this type of security include training programmes for informal care providers and informal care receivers). It is believed that different views on the security and flexibility issues are associated with different expectations on policy measures for promoting productivism. People who believe that the government and individual informal care providers have the responsibility for guaranteeing the caring role security are likely to favour the provision of training for informal care providers. Those who believe that the government has the responsibility for guaranteeing the income security are reasonably expected to support the provision of carers’ allowances. Since these policy measures have the potential 127

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

to promote the interests of informal care providers and thus productivism, they should be considered as important as policy measures for enhancing the various forms of security for workers. Issue three: diverse preferences on active labour market policy measures and alternatives The studies of a variety of ALMPs (Bergemann and Van den Berg, 2006; Anna and Slavomíra, 2017; Asenjo and Pignatti, 2019) show that different people participating in the work economy prefer different kinds of support –​those who have high employability may prefer to have support for re-​entering the job market, while those who have less chance of re-​entering the job market may prefer to have support for organising a decommodified life. If there is a mismatch between what people prefer and what they are given, some life-​mix challenges can be created. For example, if people who want to get a new job within a short period of time are only given the opportunity of receiving a long period of training, they may become vulnerable to life-​mix relational constraints and user deficits (see Chapter 1 for definitions). This is because they want to be an employee rather than a trainee, and they are required to pay the opportunity costs (such as waiting time and lost wages due to the delay in return to paid work) of attending the training that they do not necessarily want. Similarly, it is necessary to provide appropriate support to people who want to respond to productivism by acting as informal care providers. For example, more paid parental leave and job protection should be provided to those who prefer to provide informal care to their young children for a long period of time. By doing so, they will be given income security and job security to change their role flexibly from employees to informal care receivers and then back to employees after the paid parental leave period expires. For those who want to get a part-​time job and provide care to their family members at the same time, they could be provided with formal care services to reduce their care responsibilities. By doing so, more favourable conditions can be created for people to choose to change their role from being full-​time informal care providers to being part-​time informal carers and part-​time workers. Issue four: subjective perceptions of users of active labour market policies and alternatives In promoting people’s opportunities for selecting their ways of responding to productivism, it is important to develop good financial and administrative frameworks to improve the effectiveness and transparency of the ALMPs and alternatives. It is equally important to recognise and respect how people organise their lives as employees, employers, informal care providers, informal care receivers and so on. To achieve this, the subjective perception of the 128

Active labour market policies and alternatives

difficulties faced by people in responding to productivism, and their subjective views on the desirability of the possible ways of tackling these difficulties, should be considered. For example, in order to facilitate people to develop their potential, it is important to detect barriers to people’s participation in both the work economy and in the family as informal care providers. To achieve this, it is necessary to be clear on how people interpret the nature of the barriers. As discussed in Chapter 1, family care responsibilities are often seen as a source of problems. People have difficulties in taking part in the work economy due to heavy family care responsibilities on their shoulders (ILO, 2018). However, if people want to respond to productivism by providing informal care in the family rather than taking part in formal employment, they will see family care responsibilities as an opportunity for them to organise their lives in the way they prefer instead. The helping process often involves different professionals (such as social workers and career counsellors). It is important to find out whether there is any discrepancy between the views of these helping professionals and those of people who are regarded as potential clients facing the barriers to participation in a working or caring life in relation to productivism. Issue five: self-​care Self-​employment has the potential to promote flexicurity in the way that people prefer. It gives people the opportunity to become not only employees but also employers. Playing these two roles simultaneously may make it easier to build a consensus in the workplace on external-​numerical flexibility and internal-​numerical flexibility. Moreover, self-​employed people are likely to be more committed to achieving job security. Furthermore, since people can be both employers and employees, it is easier for them to have a high degree of ontological security. Self-​care can also bring advantages concerning flexibility and security. It gives people in need more choices about how to organise their adult lives. In addition to relying on formal and informal care providers, people with care needs may be able to rely more on themselves –​ for example, by the assistance of enabling technology, home-​based services and a physical environment with minimum barriers. Moreover, playing both the roles of care providers and care receivers may make people more determined to achieve specific caring relationship security. Furthermore, it is easier for people to gain a high degree of ontological security.

Suggestions for improvement Suggestion 1 This is concerned with adding new items to the European Network of Public Employment Service Index.3 There are reasons to believe that this 129

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe

index plays an important role in assisting people to respond to the ideas of flexicurity. It draws attention not only to the institutional framework of the implementation of ALMPs but also to the client journey of ALMP delivery (EC, 2019). It covers the following six important areas concerning the quality of ALMPs (EC, 2019): • budget: the amount of resources available for ALMP provision and flexibility of allocating the budget across regions, ALMPs and years; • performance management: whether managers and frontline staff have the right incentives to use ALMPs to enhance the benefits of jobseekers; • outreaching: whether the public employment service is able to reach out to the target groups; • profiling: how to ensure that client categorisation can accurately reflect client needs and labour market proximity; • segmentation: the search for the programme that is most likely to get people to return to the labour market or improve their employability; • delivery of ALMPs: whether the extent of the available range of ALMPs matches client needs. Given that both employees and informal care providers in the family can contribute to production, we stress that the index on the quality of ALMPs should consider the needs and potential of the informal care providers in contributing to production activities. So our first suggestion focuses on extending the scope of the six items of the index. The details of this suggestion are shown in Table 6.9. It is expected that our suggestion can bring several benefits to informal care providers as participants of production: • potential informal care providers can be identified and contacted by the government; • difficulties faced by people in delivering informal care can be found out; • shared needs of people who are the potential and actual informal care providers can be identified; • stakeholders of the informal care in the family such as care receivers have the opportunities to get their views heard; • sufficient financial and human resources can be secured for promoting the interests of the informal care providers. Suggestion 2 This suggestion focuses on making responses to the notion of flexicurity with reference to both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. As mentioned earlier, it is important to respond and 130

Active labour market policies and alternatives Table 6.9: Suggestions on improving ALMP measures and alternatives Suggestions in the study report*

Suggestions by the authors

Outreaching Outreaching • Public employment services • Those who prefer but lack sufficient opportunities to should regularly collect and respond to productivism by serving as informal care analyse information on potential providers should also be regarded as potential users. clients in need of public • The government should proactively contact employment services. organisations which provide formal care to young • Public employment services children and older people, and see whether their should cooperate with relevant family members would prefer to provide informal care partners in reaching potential by themselves. clients. Profiling Profiling • The profiling tool should • In addition to the suggestions made in the study collect information on the report, another profiling tool should be developed following: age; gender; to collect information about those who prefer and education and qualifications; have the potential to act as informal care providers. past employment history; This profiling tool should collect the following labour market barriers (for information: age; gender; past experience of being example, care responsibilities, informal care providers; barriers to performing the health, ethnicity, background); role of informal care provider (for example, a lack of transversal (cognitive) skills financial support, gender bias on the division of care (literacy, language, IT and so on); in the family, health issues and a lack of emotional soft (non-​cognitive) skills (for support); skills of providing informal care; and the example, communication skills, motivation to become an informal care provider. teamwork or leadership); and • It is believed that this information is useful for job search motivation (expected counsellors and advisers to predict and reduce people’s unemployment duration and so risk of losing the opportunities to perform the role of on). informal care provider. Segmentation/​referral • Jobseekers are grouped by their likely level of need based on the results of a holistic profiling. • Public employment services should stress the importance of ALMP measures that are likely to be most effective for each jobseeker group.

Segmentation/​referral • In addition to jobseekers, those who seek assistance for acting as an informal care provider should be grouped together based on the results of a holistic profiling. By doing so, their shared needs can be identified. • In addition to meeting the needs of jobseekers, different types of assistance should be provided to different groups of people who prefer to be the provider of informal care. Examples of these types of assistance are as follows: subsidising people to provide informal care; providing emotional support to people who provide informal care; using formal care to reduce the care responsibilities of the informal care provider; providing informal care providers with training for the caring skills; ensuring people have job protection when they leave their workplace for a certain period to provide informal care; and supporting people (financially and emotionally) to conduct self-​care. (continued)

131

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 6.9: Suggestions on improving ALMP measures and alternatives (continued) Suggestions in the study report*

Suggestions by the authors

Delivery Delivery • Available ALMPs should match • The five options of assistance (mentioned in the item the needs of jobseekers and Segmentation/​referral) should be flexibly combined can be flexibly combined to to ensure those who prefer to be an informal care maximise effectiveness. provider can effectively be helped to realise their • Stakeholders should be consulted potential in contributing to productivism. about major changes in the range • In providing assistance to informal care providers, and content of ALMPs. the views of care receivers should be listened to and respected, as they are important stakeholders in the process of providing and receiving informal care. Budget • The amount and distribution of financial resources from the central to the regional/​local level follows an analysis of the regional/​local labour market situation and the targets to be achieved given this situation in bilateral negotiations.

Budget • The amount and distribution of financial resources from the central to the regional/​local level should be based on an analysis of the needs of users (including not only jobseekers but also informal care providers).

Performance management • The performance indicators include measures of efficiency and sustainability of achievements and to prevent creaming.

Performance management • It is necessary to measure the performance of the managers and frontline staff responsible for helping both jobseekers and people who prefer to play the role of informal care provider.

*Source: European Network of Public Employment Services, 2019 (compiled by the authors)

respect that people may prefer to take part in a working life or a caring life or change their attachment from one life-​mix pattern to another from time to time. In helping them to meet their life-​mix preferences, their interests should be put before those of other parties (such as employers and the government). Thus, it is suggested that people should have a sufficient say about the roles they play in production and about whether they should change their roles from time to time. As mentioned earlier, the examples of these roles include workers, the self-​employed, informal care providers in the family and the self-​cared in the family. To create favourable conditions for people to have some control about how to organise their lives, the following forms of security should be made available: • security for workers (job security, employment security, income security, ontological security and combination security);4 • security for informal care providers (specific caring relationship security, caring role security, income security, ontological security and combination security). 132

Active labour market policies and alternatives

The provision of different forms of security can represent the provision of different kinds of resources (job opportunity, the opportunity for providing informal care, financial resources and information). The amount of job security and employment security can be determined by the availability of job opportunity. The specific caring relationship and caring role security are related to the availability of opportunity for providing informal care. The income security for workers and informal care providers can be measured in terms of the financial support they receive. The ontological security is related to the provision of availability of essential information for the roles people take as a worker or as an informal care provider. The combination security is related to the opportunities for performing both the roles of workers and informal care providers. Helping people access the various forms of security for workers and informal care providers can mean helping them access the various kinds of resources to achieve the life-​mix patterns they prefer.

133

7

Women’s life-​mixes: insights from two qualitative studies in Hong Kong Introduction This chapter explores the significance of the key elements of the life-​mix framework with the demand approach. It focuses on discussing how women manage their life-​mix preferences, life-​mix challenges and their expectations of the government in tackling these challenges. Examples are drawn from two studies of how women in Hong Kong handle life-​mix issues. The first study explores the experience of young women in accumulating pension income under the MPF. The second is concerned with middle-​aged women’s experiences of providing transnational family care. More information of these two studies can be found in the later parts of this chapter. We carry out two analytical tasks in the ­chapter –​to present the findings of these two studies and to explore the implications of the studies for life-​mix research.

Mandatory provident fund (MPF) As discussed in Chapter 6, the MPF is one of the most important retirement protection measures in Hong Kong. Almost all full-​time employees aged 18 to 65 and their employers are required to contribute 5 per cent of employees’ incomes to a recognised private provident fund each month (Shi and Mok, 2012). The main organisations that manage MPF are government-​approved trustees from private companies (Commission on Poverty, 2015). Participants are entitled to claim back the accumulated savings from the MPF in a lump sum at the age of 65 (please refer to Chapter 6 for details of the scheme). According to the Commission on Poverty (2015), an individual can secure enough money for retirement through the MPF on three conditions –​he/​she has earned what is equivalent to the median income or more for 40 years, he/​she has contributed to the MPF from the age of 25 to 65 and at the age of 65, he/​she begins to receive the non-​means-​tested Old Age Allowance (OAA), as a supplement to the MPF savings. The OAA provides a monthly allowance to Hong Kong residents who have severe disabilities or who are aged 65 or above with special needs arising from disability or old age. In view of these conditions suggested by the Commission on Poverty, it is understood that the Hong Kong SAR government favours people’s 134

Women’s life-mixes

participation in a working life for a long period of time. However, it makes limited commitments to the development of the supported adult worker model. Apart from the tax concession on employees’ contributions, it does not financially support workers to contribute to the MPF. Chapters 4 and 5 show that the Hong Kong SAR government devotes fewer resources to childcare leave measures and ECEC than the other six governments studied in this book. This is one reason why women in Hong Kong face many difficulties in taking part in formal employment, as reflected in statistics. Women spend more time than men on doing their housework. In 2016, men on average spent 1.41 hours on doing housework, whereas women on average spent 2.7 hours per day (Centre for Applied Social and Economic Research, 2016). Fewer women than men take part in formal employment. In 2019, the labour force participation rate of women was 50.5 per cent, lower than the rate of 67.4 per cent of men, which gives rise to a relative labour force participation rate of 16.9 per cent (as compared with the average value of 10.3 per cent among the 24 countries/​territories) (see Table 3.1). Analysts attribute this gender gap in the labour participation rates to women’s continued struggles to reconcile paid work with unpaid care work and inadequate childcare services (Leung and Chan, 2012; Leung, 2014). It is also important to note that there is a wage gap between men and women. For example, the average monthly salaries of male and female service workers were HKD 14,911 and HKD 12,227 respectively in 2019 (Census & Statistics Department, 2019b).

The study of young women Against this background, 40 Chinese women aged 25–​30 were invited to discuss MPF issues through semi-​structured interviews. These interviews were conducted in collaboration with a community organisation in early 2020. All respondents had been earning incomes higher than the median income of Hong Kong for five years or more, and had been contributing to the MPF. We focus on this target group because its members are seen by the Commission on Poverty (2015) as those who have the potential ability to save sufficient pension incomes through the MPF. To recruit respondents, roadside stalls were set up in busy residential and commercial locations. Respondents were also encouraged to invite their peers to participate in the study. Table 7.1 provides a brief summary of the characteristics of the participants. The median age was 27. Just over half of the respondents (21 out of 40) were in professional occupations, with the others in management, administrative and skilled jobs. Less than half of the respondents (18 out of 40) were married: of these, eight had children. The majority of them (24 out of 40) had post-​secondary qualifications. All respondents had at least five years of working experience. 135

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 7.1: Personal particulars of the respondents in the first study Personal particulars

Characteristics of respondents

Age

25–​30 (median 27)

Occupation

skilled (​12); professional (​21); management and administration (​7)

Marital status

married (10); married with children (8); single (12)

Education attainment

secondary education (6); associate degree/​diploma (12); university degree or above (12)

Work experience

five years (25); six–​seven years (8); eight years or more (7)

Pseudonyms are used in the report of the findings to ensure confidentiality. In view of the sample size and purposive sampling, this study by nature is illustrative rather than extensive, with the emphasis on developing a much richer understanding of processes, motivations, beliefs and attitudes (Rowlingson, 2002). Several topic areas for the interviews were identified based on the concepts of life-​mix challenges, the supported adult worker model, the supported adult carer model and the MPF. Respondents were invited to share their views on these topics. Thematic analysis was used to investigate the interview data. All transcripts were coded line by line in order to identify patterns of meanings in the data. We then sorted the different codes into potential themes by carefully considering the relationships between different codes and between different themes. To do this, we constantly looked into both similarities and differences of meanings in individual responses and clusters of individual responses related to the potential themes. Interview findings From the process of data analysis, we identified four themes that were repeatedly discussed by various respondents during the interviews. They were: 1. respondents’ worries about saving pension incomes through the MPF; 2. the government’s roles in tackling difficulties faced by women; 3. personal efforts made by respondents to save pension incomes; 4. respondents’ preferences for a working and/​or a caring life. Worries about the Mandatory Provident Fund Only seven respondents reported that they faced no difficulties in saving sufficient resources through the MPF to secure a reasonable living standard in their retirement lives. The rest of the respondents (33 out of 40) were worried that they could not accumulate sufficient pension incomes for 136

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retirement through the MPF, despite the fact that they had participated in the MPF for more than five years. Respondents provided explanations for these worries: • family care commitments made it difficult for them to develop a stable career and take part in the MPF for a long period of time; • organisations responsible for investing the MPF could not make enough profit to provide a reasonable return; • the difficulties in having a permanent job which could enable them to make regular contributions to the MPF. Most respondents (31 out of 40) stressed that their care commitment in the family was the major reason why they could not develop their career and save sufficient pension incomes through the MPF. Zoe said: ‘Two years ago my mom’s health deteriorated very fast. I had no choice but to quit my job as a company manager. I like this job very much. After quitting this job, I find it difficult not only to maintain a reasonable standard of living but also to save sufficient money for my retirement. I think I am not the only one who faces this kind of challenge.’ Bi-​kei said: “After having a car accident last year, my father has been in need for care. Since I am his only child, I had to quit my job and looked after him full time. I now live on my saving and do not have income saved for my future.” Both Yo-​yo and Yu-​nan had stopped working for more than two years after having their first baby. Yo-​yo said: ‘I hired a foreign domestic helper to look after my child, but before long, I found that the health of my child was not very good. Very reluctantly, I quit my job and started looking after my child myself. Since then, I have had no money to save for retirement.’ Yu-​nan said: “I loved to work in the previous company and planned to develop my career there. However, after my son was born, things have changed a lot. I need to give almost all my time to him. I have no choice but deciding to be a full-​time housewife.” Lok-​sum, who had just married, said that she would quit her job if she had a child. She said: “It is quite impossible to have a successful career and to look after a child well. I will put the interest of my child before everything such as my career and my pension saving plan.” Apple shared a similar view. She said: “It is very difficult to develop a career and ensure that our child has a healthy development. It is understood why many women quit their jobs after having a child.” 137

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In addition to the changes in their personal or family circumstances that make it difficult for them to work and contribute to the MPF, some respondents were also doubtful about the effectiveness of the MPF in providing a good return. Three respondents seriously criticised the performance of the organisations managing the MPF savings. Jane said: “Those companies managing the money saved from the MPF perform poorly. I can make better investment than they can. However, the MPF is a compulsory exercise and I have no choice but handing in my money to them.” Janis said: “If I had a choice, I would have made the investment myself instead of relying on the so-​called investment companies. I am keen to look after my money; those investment companies aren’t.” Windy said: ‘There are only a few companies providing the MPF plans. Judging from my experience, the services they provide are poor in quality. They charge too much and they cannot guarantee that our investment has a reasonable return. The government should further open the MPF market, and even better, if it allows us to make investment by ourselves.’ Some respondents had difficulties in securing a permanent job and thus found it hard to make sufficient contributions to the MPF. Lancy said: “Most of the job offers available to me are on short contract. It is not easy to get one which provides any long-​term protection to my career.” Lilly said: “I have not come across any permanent job offer. My future is so uncertain that I cannot afford to buy a flat on mortgage at the moment, not to say to save sufficient money for my retirement life.” The interview findings provide examples of life-​mix challenges. Zoe and Yu-​nan faced life-​mix relational constraints, as they wished to lead a working life but failed to do so because of their family care commitment. Jane and Janis suffered from a user deficit as they thought that taking part in the MPF would bring more costs than benefits –​that is, having a poorer return through contributing to the MPF than making the investment by themselves. However, they did not have the freedom to decide whether or not to join the MPF, because saving money in the MPF is a legal obligation. Yo-​yo and Bi-​kei were in a life-​mix material gap, because they could not maintain a reasonable standard of living after they changed role from being a worker to being an informal care provider in the family. The government’s roles in tackling difficulties faced by women More than two thirds of the respondents (30 out of 40) believed that the government had an obligation to assist women in reducing their difficulties in saving pension incomes through the MPF. So-​lan said: “When I work, I pay tax to support the government. The government should financially 138

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support me when I become too old to work.” Sandy said: “Hong Kong’s fertility rate is very low. This will affect the economy in the long run. If the government fails to help mothers keep their job and receive pension support, it cannot motivate families to rear more children.” Li-​Shan said: “It is quite predictable that we have more and more poor older people in Hong Kong, as our saving is not sufficient to support a decent retirement. To avoid this problem, the government should help people to make sufficient saving through the MPF or provide better pension scheme.” Jane said: “Giving older people sufficient pension to retire is as important as giving them free health care services. Both of these measures make them feel more secure about their retirement life.” Most participants did not think that the government had done enough to help women save pension incomes through the MPF or any other alternatives. They made suggestions about how the government should assist women to tackle their difficulties in saving pension incomes for retirement, such as: • • • • • • •

supporting mothers to work; lengthening the paid maternity leave; subsidising family care providers to contribute to the MPF; providing a carers’ pension scheme; supporting men to take up more care work in the family; assisting the family to outsource its caring responsibilities to other sectors; allowing MPF participants to withdraw money from their account to make their own investments.

The following provides more details of the respondents’ views on these suggestions. Respondents such as Pauline, Pinky, Queenie and Macy thought that the government should carry out more policy measures to support mothers in continuing to work. Pauline said: “In order to get respect in the family, women should have their own career and financial autonomy. So, the government should make efforts to help mothers stay in the job market after they have children.” Pinky said: ‘The paid maternity leave in Hong Kong is too short. The government should lengthen it (from 14 weeks) to one year. A long paid maternity leave can support mothers to look after their young children for a reasonably long time, and then go back to their formal employment and save money through the MPF.’ Some respondents suggested financially supporting women to play the role of care provider in the family. The financial support can include carers’ 139

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allowances and pension measures for informal care providers. Macy said: “I enjoy looking after my family full time. However, for financial reasons, I need to work and do not have sufficient time to provide care in the family. If the government provided sufficient carers’ allowances, I would quit my job and become a full-​time care provider in the family.” Queenie shared similar views. She reported: ‘My parents need me to look after them full time, but I cannot fulfil their needs because I need to spend most of my time in the workplace. If the government gives me sufficient money to support myself, I would be able to quit my job and take care of my parents full time. This is what I like to do.’ Ming-​shui said: “To ensure that those full-​time family care providers have sufficient pension incomes for retirement, the government should set up a special pension scheme for them or contribute to the MPF for them.” Mandy, Joe, Wan-​choi, Lucy and Wing-​chan shared a view that men should be given more support to provide care in the family. Mandy said: “Women will have more leisure time and a greater chance of developing their career if men are given support from the government to share more unpaid work in the family.” This view was supported by Joe, who believed that the government should develop more policy measures (such as paid parental leave for men and a maximum working hour policy) to encourage men to share the care responsibilities in the family so as to give women more spare time. Some respondents (such as Rosa and Lucy) believed that these measures would not only enhance the equality in the allocation of care responsibilities between men and women in the family but also fulfil some men’s wishes of leading a caring life. Lucy said: “Men have the responsibility of providing care for their families and they also deserve the opportunity of developing their potential for taking care of other family members. Some men I know enjoy doing unpaid care work.” Bettie and Mary thought the ECEC was seriously underdeveloped. They pointed out if the government devoted more resources to developing the ECEC, the parents would have more time to develop their career. Bettie said: ‘The government encourages young married couples to have more babies. However, the ECEC in Hong Kong is underdeveloped. Some friends of mine waited for a vacancy in the nursery more than one year. Eventually they have chosen to look after their child by themselves. If the government provides more childcare places, their parents can have more time to develop their career and save money for retirement.’ Some respondents (Wen-​shan, Jane and Janis) were more concerned about how their saving in the MPF should be managed. They suggested that the 140

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government should allow them to withdraw the money from the MPF so that they could make their own investments. Wen-​shan said: ‘In addition to my saving in MPF account, I also invest some money in other retirement plans. If the government allowed me to withdraw my money any time from my MPF account, I could flexibly combine my different investments together and gain a better return. And the important thing is that I could have better control over my investment.’ Janis said: “You never know whether you need to use a great amount of money for something such as paying the hospital bills before retirement. The government should allow us to use the saving in a flexible way. The saving belongs to me, not the government.” The interview findings suggest that respondents had diverse expectations of the government. Some (such as May, Nancy and Mary) wanted the government to make more efforts to uphold the supported adult carer model. Some (Pauline, Pinky, Queenie and Macy) stressed the importance of developing the supported adult worker model. Some (such as Mandy, Joe, Wan-​choi, Lucy and Wing-​chan) emphasised that the government should assist men to organise their caring lives. It is important to note that in the view of some respondents (Jane, Janis and Shan) the government should stop making participation in the MPF compulsory. This shows that not all respondents welcomed government intervention in their pension saving plans or working lives. Personal effort in saving pension incomes A majority of the respondents (33 out of 40) thought that they could not save sufficient pension incomes for retirement without assistance from the government. Despite this, most of them made individual efforts to increase their chances of having a secure retirement life. Three respondents planned to migrate to other countries. One of them (Carmen) said: “It is not easy to get a job in a foreign country, but compared to Hong Kong, many foreign countries provide a better pension scheme for their citizens. This is the main reason why I choose to leave Hong Kong to go elsewhere.” Some respondents tried to find a permanent post in the job market. Apple said: “It is not easy to find a permanent job now, but I will keep searching. A permanent job would give me job security and make it easier to save pension money.” Some respondents (Ah-​mui and Wing-​shan) believed that running small businesses, despite the risk of losing money, could enable them to earn some money after retirement. Both Wing-​mei and Mi-​mi believed that good family planning could help them achieve a secure retirement life. They reported that they would think very carefully before coming to 141

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a decision concerning marriage and having children. A main factor they would seriously consider was whether they would have the opportunity to develop their career after marriage and having children. The interview findings show that some respondents played an active role in seeking assistance from other sectors (such as foreign governments, the family and the market) in handling their pension issues. These findings show that they wanted to organise their caring and working lives without relying on the government. The findings may suggest that the respondents did not trust that the government could give them sufficient pension protection. Preferences for participation in the family care and/​or work economy More than half of the respondents (28 out of 40) preferred to take part in paid work. Betty reported: “I want to have my own career. This helps to develop my potential.” Windy said: “Getting a stable job enables women to have a greater say in the family.” However, more than half of these 28 respondents reported that they were prepared to quit their jobs at least for a short period of time if they needed to look after their family members. Seven respondents intended to play the role of family care provider full time after getting married. Jenny was one of them. She said: “I enjoy looking after my family, and ensuring that they are well taken care of.” Jane shared a similar view: “I prefer to play the role of the full-​time care provider. I think it is more important to take care of my family than to develop my own career. My family appreciates very much how I take care of them.” Several respondents hoped that they would always have the opportunity to choose whether to take paid work or care for their families. Fiona and Cat explained their thoughts. Fiona said: ‘My mother is no longer young. It is inevitable that I will need to quit my job one day to look after her. If I cannot find other support for her, I hope the government can financially assist me to hire a domestic helper or allow my mother to access the day care centre services. With these kinds of support, I will have more breathing space and more choices about how to organise my life.’ Cat stressed that she was too young to have any concrete ideas about issues concerning career development and the family. She hoped that the government could help both workers and family care providers to save pension incomes so that she could have choices about how to organise her adult life in the future.

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The interview findings show that respondents did not have the same life-​ mix preferences. Instead, their life-​mix preferences were diverse and dynamic. These imply that some are supporters of pro-​care productivism (in favour of more government support for carers in the family), some are supporters of pro-​work productivism (in favour of more government support for workers) and some change their view on the relative importance of different kinds of productivism from time to time. Implications of the findings The discussion of the four themes shows the importance of the key elements of the life-​mix framework. It provides examples of four different preferences on the life-​mix patterns (attaching mainly to a working life, attaching mainly to a caring life, shifting from a working to a caring life and shifting from a caring to a working life). It also provides examples of the three life-​mix challenges. Last but not least, it shows women have expectations of the government. Their policy suggestions reflect their expectations of the government to support them to live in ways they value. To improve the respondents’ lives, the government should pay attention to the life-​mix challenges faced by the respondents and take the respondents’ suggestions seriously.

The study of transnational family care As a part of the study of how older people and their families in the UK received transnational family support from their family members in Hong Kong, 15 middle-​aged women (aged 45–​60) in Hong Kong were invited to attend an interview in 2020 to share their experiences of providing transnational care. These respondents were recruited by the snowballing approach through the same community organisation. All of them had relatives in the UK and provided care for their overseas relatives in various ways. Table 7.2 provides a brief summary of the characteristics of the participants. The median age of the respondents was 57. Only three were in professional jobs and five were in management and administrative work. Only two were single and the others were married (eight had children). Less than half (six out of 15) had post-​secondary education. The number of years of working experience varied from ten to 30 or above. Interview findings Based on the analysis of the transcripts, we identified four themes: types of transnational family care provided by respondents, difficulties faced by the respondents in providing transnational family care, respondents’ views on 143

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 7.2: Personal particulars of the respondents in the second study Personal particulars

Characteristics of respondents

Age

45–​60 (median 57)

Occupation

Skilled (7); professional (3); management and administration (5)

Marital status

Married (5); married with children (8); single (2)

Education attainment

Primary education (2); secondary education (7); university degree or above (6)

Work experience

Ten–​20 years (4); 21–​30 years (9); 31 years or more (2)

the role that the government should play in reducing their difficulties and personal efforts the respondents made to reduce the difficulties in providing transnational care. Types of transnational care The respondents were involved in different types of transnational family care. Annie and Anna mailed medicines regularly to their relatives in the UK. Bonnie, Bambra and Linda made short visits to the UK in order to provide proximate care to their family members. Linda said: “Both my mom and my daughter are living in the UK. After my daughter gave birth to my grandson, I went to the UK to look after him. In addition, I give my daughter money regularly so that her family could have a better life.” Deanie, Catherine and Hedy made contact with their family care receivers in the UK every day through the ICT means. All three respondents thought that this kind of contact could give emotional support to their family members. Deanie said: “My mom is 90 years old now. She calls me every day. We do not have many things to talk about. Sometimes the conversation dries up. Despite that, my mom likes talking to me as she wants to hear my voice.” Some respondents provided their overseas family members with important information about the caring services in Hong Kong. This information was useful in helping them to decide whether to use the care services in the UK or purchase private care in Hong Kong. Wendy said: ‘My sister is responsible for looking after my mom. Since she is too busy to stay at home, she wants to find some care homes which can provide care to my mom full time. I advised her to arrange for my mom to come back to Hong Kong so that we can hire a domestic helper to look after her. She and other family members in the UK are considering my suggestion.’

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Difficulties in the provision of transnational care All respondents had difficulties in providing transnational care support in the way they preferred. Bonnie and Linda said that they wished to stay for two years or more in the UK to look after their family members. However, because of the restrictions of visa policies, they could only stay for up to six months. Wendy wanted to make short visits to their family members in the UK regularly. However, she found that the air fare was too expensive to travel frequently, despite the fact that her family was in need of her care support. Annie, Bambra and Dolly reported that they had difficulties in using the ICT means to contact their overseas family members. Dolly said: ‘My son helps me from time to time to use computers and mobile phones to talk to my mom who stays in the UK. But my son does not live with me and it is not very easy to get him to come to my flat to set up the computer for me.’ Bambra said that she could manage to use a computer to talk to her overseas family members. However, she worried that no one would help her repair the computer when it was out of order. Ah-​Bo and Linda were asked to migrate to the UK so that they could give their parents proximate care. However, they were concerned that they might not be able to adapt to the lifestyle in the UK and be able to find a job, and as a result have difficulties in paying for their expenses. Winnie, Wen and Ah Lai were overburdened by their caring commitment in the family. Winnie said that her mother called her every day. This made it difficult for her to do her job. Winnie said: ‘I am 57 years old now. I need to work for a few more years so as to save money for my future. However, my family care commitment makes it difficult to do so. My mom is in need of my care and attention and talking to her especially when she feels upset. This is rather personal. It is difficult to ask any organisations providing formal care to look after her.’ Wen was asked by her mother to go to the UK. Wen preferred a restful retirement. She did not want to work after retirement nor look after her mom in the UK. Despite that, she still visited her mom a few times as she explained: ‘If I did not go to take care of my mom, my sister in the UK would have no choice but to look after my mom all the time. My sister’s health

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is not very good. She feels ill from time to time and it is not fair to leave all the responsibility for looking after my mom to her. For the benefit of both my sister and my mom, I go to the UK to look after my mom from time to time.’ Ah Lai said: ‘When I was young, I needed to give up my job in order to look after my young child. A few years ago, I restarted my career as a computer programmer and planned to work in this field for a reasonably long period of time so that I could save money for my retirement. However, recently I gave up my career again because I needed to fly to London to look after my mom from time to time. I am now a self-​employed person doing some short-​term projects.’ The interview findings provided examples of life-​mix relational constraints and life-​mix material gaps. Winnie wanted to continue to work but could not do so because she needed to make transnational contacts with her mom every day. Annie, Bambra and Dolly had difficulties in performing the role of the provider of transnational care because they lacked sufficient ICT knowledge. Ah Bo, Linda and Ah Lai worried that they could not maintain a reasonable standard of living when they moved from being a worker to being a provider of transnational care in the UK. Expectations on the government Respondents had diverse views on the government’s role in helping them provide transnational family care. Four respondents said that they had no expectations of the government. The rest of the respondents (11 out of 15) felt that either the Hong Kong government or the UK government, or both, should assist them to provide care to their family members in the UK. Bonnie and Bambra shared a view that helping them provide care to a certain extent means helping the government reduce its care responsibilities. They thought that the UK government should facilitate them to provide care to their family members in the UK. Wen stressed that the Hong Kong government had the responsibility to assist middle-​aged and older people to use ICTs to organise their lives. She explained that this could improve people’s lives and promote social cohesion. The respondents had made the following policy suggestions on improving the conditions for providing transnational care: • the Hong Kong government should provide training to help middle-​aged and older people to use ICTs to contact their family members; 146

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• the Hong Kong government should expand the financial support schemes to cover older Hong Kong citizens who have migrated to the UK; • the UK government should legally allow visitors who provide care to family members to stay more than half a year; • the UK government should provide more care services to support their family members in the UK so as to reduce their caring responsibilities and allow them more time to spend on paid work; • the Hong Kong and the UK governments should sign a joint agreement to allow UK visitors to use the subsidised public health care services in Hong Kong and vice versa. The interview findings show that the respondents had diverse expectations of both governments. Some suggestions (such as supporting older people to use ICTs to contact their family members who are in paid work in a foreign country, and outsourcing the family’s care responsibilities to formal care providers) advocate that governments should commit themselves to the development of the supported adult worker model. Some suggestions (such as that the two governments should sign a joint agreement to allow UK visitors to use the subsidised public health care services in Hong Kong and vice versa) advocate that both governments should work together to promote the supported adult carer model. Personal efforts Fewer than half of respondents (seven out of 15) believed that the two governments were willing to implement the suggestions they made in the near future. Most of them tried to cope with the difficulties involved in the provision of transnational care by their own effort instead. The actions they took included buying health care insurance before travelling, asking their children to teach them how to use ICTs, asking their families to sponsor their trips to the UK and enlisting the help of more family members in sharing the care responsibilities. These interview findings show that some respondents tried to play an active role in seeking assistance from other sectors such as the private sector (for example, by employing domestic helpers) and their families in Hong Kong and the UK to deal with the life-​mix challenges. Implications of the findings Like the study about young women’s views on the MPF, this study provides insights into the significance of the key components of the life-​mix framework. It presents examples of life-​mix relational constraints and life-​mix material gaps. The interview findings also confirm that women can be active 147

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and reflective agents. As mentioned earlier, the respondents had different life-​mix preferences, and thus had different views on the relative desirability of the government measures on meeting their preferences. Furthermore, some of them attempted to seek resources from their families and the private sector to support their provision of transnational family care. Finally, their suggestions (on how the UK and the Hong Kong SAR governments could help them provide transnational care) show their awareness that they might not be able to tackle all life-​mix challenges on their own. It is important for both governments to uphold the supported adult models beyond the national border so as to create more favourable conditions to reduce the life-​mix challenges. One possibility is to give people double citizenship to transnational carers. This would allow them to receive protection from both countries as citizens and to fulfil the social obligations of providing care for their families in both places.

Conclusion This chapter has provided empirical examples of the three key elements of the life-​mix framework –​the life-​mix preferences, the negative welfare outcomes (the life-​mix challenges) and the policy suggestions for tackling the negative welfare outcomes. For the last part of this chapter, it is worth highlighting the advantages of discussing the two studies together. First, this enhances the awareness that people from different age groups with different levels of education attainments and occupational backgrounds can be equally vulnerable to life-​mix challenges. As mentioned earlier, both groups of women had the chance of facing life-​mix challenges such as life-​ mix relational constraints and life-​mix material gaps. Second, it is possible that women face more than one type of life-​mix challenge at the same time. For example, Zoe experienced both the life-​ mix relational constraint and the life-​mix material gap simultaneously. She wanted to take part in paid work but could not do so because she needed to provide care to her family. Since she changed her role from being a worker to being a family care provider, she found it difficult to maintain a reasonable standard of living. Winnie had similar difficulties. She did not want to bear all the care responsibilities in the family and felt that such care commitment undermined her chance of securing a reasonable standard of living in the future. She faced both the life-​mix relational constraints and the life-​mix material gaps. Third, it is equally possible that women face the same kind of life-​mix challenges in different parts of their life courses. For example, Ah Lai had no choice but to give up her job because she was asked to provide care to her young child during her early adulthood, and when she moved into mid-​life, she found that she had no other option but to give up her career 148

Women’s life-mixes Table 7.3: Policy suggestions Supported adult models

Policy suggestions

Supported adult worker model

• The Hong Kong government should assist the family to outsource its caring responsibilities to formal care providers. • To give women more time to develop their careers, the Hong Kong government should support their male family members to take up more care responsibilities in the family.

Supported adult carer model • The Hong Kong government should subsidise family care providers to contribute to the MPF. • The Hong Kong government should provide a carers’ pension scheme. • The Hong Kong government should give more training to older people for using the ICT means to contact their family members. • The Hong Kong government should expand the financial support schemes to cover those older people who migrate to the UK. • The UK government should legally allow those visitors who provide care to family members to stay more than half a year. • The Hong Kong and the UK governments should sign a joint agreement to allow UK visitors to use the subsidised public health care services in Hong Kong and vice versa.

again because she needed to fly to London from time to time to take care of her mother. In addition, it is necessary to point out that both groups of respondents provide important policy suggestions (see Table 7.3). These suggestions provide insights into the respondents’ expectations of the government in securing good coordination between the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. Based on the policy suggestions made by the respondents, further exploration on ways of improving the caring and working lives of different women would be important. If the government is willing and able to put the policy suggestions into practice, there may be more supporters for an inclusively productive society. Furthermore, the government is not the only sector that can meet people’s life-​mix preferences. The findings of the two studies show that some respondents actively sought support from other sectors such as the market and the family to organise their caring and working lives. However, most of them were not optimistic that they could live a life free from the life-​mix challenges without government support. Finally, it is necessary to stress the importance of exploring the significance of the key elements of the life-​mix framework by the demand approach. Unlike the information collected from the supply approach in the previous chapters, the information gained with the demand approach comes from the 149

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life experiences of people who are potentially and actually organising their working and caring lives. The life-​mix challenges identified by the demand approach are more than policy issues. These are people’s real-​life experiences, which include the sacrifices they make for their families, the difficulties they face in maintaining a reasonable standard of living and in gaining autonomy in the family, and their worries about their lives in the future.

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8

Creating favourable conditions for diverse life-​mix preferences Introduction Both this chapter and Chapter 9 are concerned with the search for ways of creating more favourable conditions for meeting people’s diverse life-​mix preferences. Chapter 9 focuses on demonstrating how the discussion of welfare ideas can be used to strengthen the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. This chapter explores ways for improving the policy practices. It makes six policy suggestions: • exploring ways to break the link between the three life-​mix challenges; • fulfilling more than one near-​future goal at the same time; • critically examining government measures that undermine the development of the two supported adult models; • suggesting ways for enhancing people’s chances of meeting their diverse life-​mix preferences beyond the four policy domains discussed in this book (childcare leave, ECEC, pension and ALMPs); • demonstrating how policy suggestions for the development of the supported adult models could contribute to international policy agendas; • encouraging governments to formulate policies on productivism beyond the confines of pro-​market welfare reforms.

Breaking the links between the life-​mix challenges This section discusses the ways that life-​mix challenges can link with each other. This is followed by actions governments should take to break the connection between them. As discussed in Chapter 1, this book is concerned with three types of life-​mix challenges: life-​mix relational constraints, life-​ mix material gaps and user deficits, which can connect to each other in several ways. First, people may face more than one type of life-​mix challenge at the same time. For example, a woman faces a life-​mix relational constraint if she has no choice but to give up her career to look after her young children. After quitting her job and becoming a full-​time carer, she does not have sufficient financial resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. As a result, she is suffering from a life-​mix material gap. Second, one life-​mix challenge that occurs in the change in a life-​mix pattern can lead to other life-​mix challenges in later life. The short-​and 151

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long-​term impacts of the care penalty provide a useful example of this kind of link between life-​mix challenges. The decision made by a person to give up their job in order to take up the role of full-​time informal care provider may cost her/​him the opportunity not only to earn income to maintain a reasonable standard of living but also to contribute to the work-​based pension scheme (see Chapter 5). As a result, they are likely to come across a life-​mix material gap when raising their young children and also one when their working lives come to an end. Third, in handling life-​mix challenges, people may find themselves in a dilemma. For example, when a woman gives up her career in order to look after a young child, she may need to financially rely on other family members and thus play the role of financial dependent in the family. This may not be a role that she wants. If she chooses to decline the financial support from the family, there may be a fall in her standard of living. In this case, she is required to face either a life-​mix relational constraint or a life-​mix material gap. Furthermore, it is possible that two or more members in a family face life-​mix challenges at the same time. If the resources available in the family are limited, the family may not be able to support all its members in tackling their life-​mix challenges –​for example, when a family needs to decide who should take the transferable parental leave to look after a child full time. As discussed in Chapter 4, parental leave is not necessarily beneficial to all users. It can cause a user deficit if the amount of income the person gives up (because of taking the leave) is more than the financial support received. If both the mother and the father are eligible to have the insufficiently subsidised parental leave and cannot find childcare support from other sources, there would be a need for one of them to apply for the leave to look after their child. In this case, both the mother and the father are vulnerable to a user deficit. Who subsequently has to take the parental leave and face a user deficit would depend on how the decision is made and how resources are allocated in the family. To prevent life-​mix challenges from reinforcing each other, governments should deal with three issues when developing and coordinating policy measures to uphold the two supported adult models. First, they should ensure that these policy measures not only give people the opportunity to choose whether and how to organise their caring or working lives but also to give them sufficient financial support to maintain a reasonable standard of living regardless of their choices or circumstances. For example, only giving parents the opportunity to choose to apply for childcare leave or to arrange their child to attend ECEC is not sufficient to protect them against all life-​mix challenges either as a worker or as a carer. It is necessary to ensure that both childcare leave and ECEC are highly subsidised. By doing so, governments can reduce parents’ vulnerability to life-​mix relational 152

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constraints and life-​mix material gaps. If subsidised ECEC and childcare leave measures offer more benefits than the cost to the parents, they will also reduce the parents’ vulnerability to user deficits. Second, governments should use a ‘trans-​life-​mix’ strategy to coordinate the provision of policy measures intended to give people the protection against life-​mix challenges. This strategy is concerned with breaking the link between the life-​mix challenges that occur when people are in different life-​mix patterns. There are two kinds of trans-​life-​mix strategies: ‘forward-​ looking’ and ‘remedial’. As argued in Chapter 4, in supporting mothers or fathers to look after their young children, governments should not only provide highly subsidised childcare leave and ECEC but also financial support to the main family carers in joining pension schemes. By doing so, the government can reduce people’s chances of facing life-​mix challenges when they play the role of main carer of young children and when they later become a retiree. In this sense, the government’s attempt to help main carers save pension incomes for the later stages of their lives can be seen as a forward-​looking, trans-​life-​stage strategy. An example of the remedial trans-​life-​mix strategy is governments’ attempts to offer sufficient financial resources required for a decent retirement through measures such as non-​ means-​tested social security benefits and special carer pension schemes to people who cannot accumulate their pension funds for retirement in the earlier phases of their adulthood because of family care responsibilities or other reasons. Last but not least, in formulating policy measures for promoting the development of the two supported adult models, governments should take actions to reduce the inequalities in the decision-​making power between family members. This issue merits attention, particularly when family members (as providers or receivers) have to compete for limited resources to tackle their life-​mix challenges. The provision of non-​transferable, individual-​based policy measures can to a certain extent reduce the impact of the unequal power relationships between family members on how they choose (or refuse) their ways of tackling life-​mix challenges.

Near-​future goals With the emphasis on good coordination between the two supported adult models, Chapters 4, 5 and 6 have presented three near-​future goals. The first is to give parents of young children the opportunity to choose to take part in the work economy or to spend time on taking care of their child in the family. To meet this goal, it has been suggested that governments should provide highly committed childcare leave and highly committed ECEC at the same time. The second goal is to give people the opportunity to choose to continue to work or to provide informal care to their family in the later 153

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parts of their lives. To meet this goal, it has been suggested that governments should provide both generous early retirement pension schemes and late retirement pension schemes. The third goal is to enable both workers and informal care providers to respond to the ideas of flexicurity in the way they prefer. To do so, we need to provide both workers and informal care providers with various forms of security (job security, employment security, income security, specific caring relationship security, caring role security, ontological security and combination security). To enhance people’s chances of meeting their life-​mix preferences, governments should meet the two near-​future goals simultaneously with the provision of childcare leave, ECEC, pension measures and security measures intended to help people respond to flexibility. If governments were to do so, people would have more options to organise their working and caring lives under different combinations of government policies, such as: • combination 1: highly committed ECEC policy measures +​generous late retirement pension schemes +​measures for guaranteeing various forms of security (such as job security, employment security and income security) for workers; • combination 2: highly committed childcare leave measures +​generous early retirement pension schemes +​measures for guaranteeing various forms of security (such as specific caring relationship security, caring role security and income security) for informal care providers; • combination 3: highly committed ECEC policy measures +​generous early retirement pension schemes +​measures for guaranteeing various forms of security for younger workers +​measures for guaranteeing various forms of security for older informal care providers; • combination 4: highly committed childcare leave measures +​generous late retirement pension schemes +​measures for guaranteeing various forms of security for older workers +​measures for guaranteeing various forms of security for younger informal care providers. Combination I would enable people to have a longer working life. Combination II would provide people with more opportunities and support to take part in a caring life. Combination III would support people to spend more time in a working life in the earlier phases of their adulthood and retire earlier to look after their families. Combination IV would give people more time to provide informal care in the family in the earlier stage of life but more time in the work economy later. Combination III serves to support the forward-​looking, trans-​life strategy. Combination IV can be seen as an important instrument for carrying out the remedial trans-​life strategy. If both combinations are carried out by the government, people will have the opportunity to choose to use the 154

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forward-​looking, trans-​life strategy or the remedial trans-​life strategy to meet their life-​mix preferences.

Challenging existing policy and practice Not all governments and international organisations will favour the two supported adult models. Some government policies can undermine people’s chances of benefiting from policy measures underpinned by these two models. To create more favourable conditions for meeting diverse life-​ mix preferences, it is necessary to raise concerns about the negative effects of some policies and practices on the development of the two supported adult models. As shown in Chapter 5, it is not uncommon for governments to raise the pension age. This limits people’s choices about how to organise their caring and working lives when they are getting older. People who do not want to see their working lives lengthened but cannot secure sufficient financial resources to support an early retirement either face a life-​mix relational constraint because of staying in the labour market unwillingly or have to live at a lower standard because of a loss of income. Another policy measure that may undermine people’s chances of choosing how to organise their lives with the support from the two supported adult models concerns governments’ attempts to formalise childhood. Such attempts make it difficult for parents to organise their adult lives with support from policy measures under the supported adult carer model. Besides, as discussed in Chapter 4, fathers are entitled to have far less paid leave than mothers in all the seven countries/​ territories studied in this book. This makes it more difficult for fathers to choose to attach their lives to policies associated with the supported adult carer model. Last but not least, if the government only supports workers to respond to the ideas of flexicurity but not informal care providers, people’s chances of participating in a caring life will be undermined. To enhance people’s chances of meeting their life-​mix preferences, it is necessary to question these policies. To challenge governments’ decisions on increasing the pension age, the negative impact of this decision on people’s health and livelihood should be stressed. Considering those policies in favour of formalisation of childhood, it is worth raising concerns about how the development of children and their relationships with their parents can be adversely affected. To raise doubts on gender-​biased leave policies, it is necessary to discuss how such policies cause stereotyping of men’s and women’s roles in the family. To challenge a lack of sufficient measures for supporting informal care providers to choose to organise their lives based on the concept of flexicurity, it is necessary to show the problems related to an absence of sufficient support given to those people who face involuntary loss of opportunities to perform the role of informal care providers in the 155

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family, and at the same time gain sufficient resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. International organisations such as the OECD and the EU continuously make suggestions concerning childcare leave measures and ECEC. Their suggestions may affect people’s chances of meeting their diverse life-​mix preferences. It is important to study the assumptions behind the suggestions made by these international organisations. As discussed in Chapter 4, the ‘synergy’ between the childcare leave and ECEC suggested by the EC (2014; 2019) builds on the assumption of the subordination of the supported adult carer model to the supported adult worker model. It is necessary to have debates on the positive and negative outcomes brought by putting this assumption into practice. As also discussed in Chapter 4, these outcomes include giving unequal recognition to a caring life and a working life, enhancing the formalisation of childhood and only confining the future development of leave measures in a fragmented way. There is no guarantee that these debates can generate support for a more balanced development of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. Nonetheless, they can make the public more aware of the negative consequences of giving pro-​care productivism and pro-​work productivism an unequal status.

Policy suggestions beyond the four policy domains In Chapters 4, 5 and 6, we explored the potential of policy measures to assist people to meet their life-​mix preferences in four domains (childcare leave, ECEC, pensions and ALMPs). People’s working and caring lives are affected by more policies than those within these four domains. It is important to explore the potential of other policies in meeting the diverse life-​mix preferences. Some policy suggestions are made in the following paragraphs. Home–​work integration Home–​work integration practices may enable people to link their participation in a caring life and a working life in a more flexible way. To give people more choices about organising their lives to both the supported adult carer model and the supported adult worker model, it is suggested that we should enable them to choose to work at home or to provide informal care in work settings. To do so, governments can financially support and/​or encourage employers to provide nursery services and allow their employees’ children to receive care at the workplace. It is equally important to let employees choose different kinds of home–​work integration practices. However, in doing so, it is necessary to be clear on these issues: 156

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• whether employers are required to hire the employees’ homes in home–​ work integration practices, to share employees’ household bills (such as utilities) or to provide any work equipment and office supplies; • who owns the time of travelling from home to work saved through the home–​work integration; • who pays for the care facilities provided at employees’ work settings. Support for transnational care It is not unusual for people to provide care to their family members living in other countries (Solari, 2018; Acedera and Yeoh, 2019; Bryceson, 2019). In order to assist them to organise their lives based on the supported adult carer model, governments should provide support through the formulation of new national policies, such as facilitating people to provide care through ICTs, providing financial support for people to travel to other countries to provide care to their family members and facilitating the migration of the family care providers (Lunt, 2009; Kilkey and Merla, 2014; Yu, Foster and Chau, 2020). Signing and honouring international agreements should also be encouraged for two or more governments to work together to uphold the two supported adult models through transnational and/​or collaborative measures. As discussed in Chapter 7, it is worth exploring the suggestion of double citizenship in supporting the provision of transnational family care, which would allow providers of transnational family care to receive protection from both countries as citizens and to fulfil the social obligations of providing care for their families in two countries. The suggestion concerning the provision of double citizenship implies that we should not rule out the possibility of building an inclusively productive society beyond a national boundary (Yu, Foster and Chau 2020). Such a transnational society may give people more opportunities to choose not only how to respond to their life-​mix preferences but also where to meet their life-​mix preferences. It is possible that people have their working lives in one country and organise their caring lives in another country. Provision of support to part-​time workers and part-​time informal care providers Some people may prefer to play the roles of part-​time workers and part-​time informal care providers. To support this life-​mix preference, it is necessary to ensure that the occupational welfare and carers’ subsidies given to part-​time workers and informal care providers are in proportion to their contribution given to full-​time workers and care providers. It may not be easy for people to coordinate their part-​time work and part-​time provision of informal care. They may face the risk of having their time fragmented by their commitments 157

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to different kinds of activities. To reduce this risk, the government should provide more supportive measures such as provision of ECEC close to part-​ timers’ workplaces and giving them travelling allowances. Insurance for workers and care providers Insurance can perform an important role in giving essential protection to workers against financial risks (for example, caused by unemployment) and health hazards (Djankov and Georgieva, 2020). At the same time as providing workers with labour insurance schemes, it is necessary to give family care providers similar protection through the provision of insurance schemes. These insurance schemes should cover the health hazards caused by the provision of care to family members, and protection against the financial risks arising from the loss of the carers’ allowance because family members no longer need their care. The provision of insurance for both full-​time workers and care providers can function as buffer-​focused social investment strategies (see the discussion on social investment in Chapter 2). Securing banking inclusion for workers and informal care providers The difficulties in accessing banking and financial facilities affect quality of life, and hinder people from fulfilling their roles as workers and informal care providers (Ho, 2017). It is necessary to assist workers (regardless of how much or little they earn and their work status) and informal care providers to be included in banking and other personal financial facilities. Maximum working hours and caring hours The maximum working hour policy is widely seen as an important tool to ensure work–​life balance (Standard Working Hours Committee, 2017; Chung, 2018). This policy is useful in enabling workers to choose to spend time on providing informal care in the family. To enhance people’s welfare, it is necessary to promote not only work–​life balance but also care–​life balance. The ideas of care–​life balance can be achieved by subsidising the families in need to hire temporary formal care providers to share the care responsibilities when their family care providers provide care in excess hours. In discussing autonomy, analysts point out the importance of ‘temporal autonomy’ (Goodin et al, 2004). This concept is measured by how much discretionary time people have. Discretionary time refers to the time beyond that necessary to attend essential activities such as earning money through paid labour, provision of unpaid care and meeting biological necessities (Goodin et al, 2008). It is believed that the implementation of care–​life 158

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balance measures can give people more discretionary time and a higher degree of temporal autonomy. Statutory leave Many countries reserve special days for recognising the contributions of informal care providers –​such as Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day and Grandparents’ Day. However, such recognition does not necessarily lead to any tangible reward. In order to safeguard the care–​life balance and the work–​ life balance, the government should provide both workers and family care providers with regular paid leave (such as every Sunday). This can be done by subsidising families to shift the care responsibilities during the informal care providers’ leave period. By doing so, the government would implement the ‘reward’ life-​mix tactic as a part of its policy strategy on productivism. Choices for single parents Governments should financially support single parents to take part in the work economy and the provision of care for their family members. Single parents often have to take care of their children while they work full time (Lundgren-​Gaveras, 1996; Robbins and McFadden, 2003). To prevent single parents from being overloaded by these double roles, governments should give them the option to organise their caring and working lives. The possible options are: • to take part in paid work full time (governments can support single parents to use childcare services provided by the public sector); • to be a full-​time family carer (governments could provide single parents with carers’ allowances so that they can maintain a reasonable standard of living independently of the labour market); • to take part in both work and care (governments could provide single parents with carers’ allowances and assist them to use childcare services in the public sector). Choices about informal care/​education and formal care/​education for young children Both care and education are important to the growth and socialisation of young children. It is necessary to recognise that young children and their parents can have diverse preferences on the ways their children receive care and education. We suggest both children and their parents should be involved in making the decision of whether to receive informal or formal care and education. 159

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Proximate and distant care To promote the well-​being of carers and give them more flexibility about how to organise caring activities, it is worth offering them the choice of providing care proximately or at a distance (Kilkey and Merla, 2014; Yu, Foster, Chau and Yu, 2021). This choice would allow them to have more freedom to decide the setting of providing informal care, the time for organising caring activities and the distance from the care receivers.

Enriching international agendas The 2030 Agenda and Europe 2020 play an important role in improving people’s lives. They encourage countries to work together to tackle social problems. The goals set by them are expected to be fulfilled in the foreseeable future. This section demonstrates how our suggestions (made in this chapter and previous chapters) on strengthening the link between the two supported adult models can enrich these two international agendas. If the governments put our suggestions into practice, they can make the 2030 Agenda and Europe 2020 important instruments for meeting people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix. The 2030 Agenda As discussed in Chapter 1, the 2030 Agenda is a plan of action of people, planet and prosperity. It sets 17 sustainable development goals and 169 targets (UN, 2015). These goals and targets represent the participating countries’ determination to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality. We have the following suggestions in response to some of the goals and targets. Goal 1 Goal one of the 2030 Agenda is to end poverty in all its forms everywhere (UN, 2015). Target 1.2 stresses reducing at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitions. Target 1b stresses creating sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-​ poor and gender-​sensitive development strategies. Our understanding of poverty is based on the discussion of life-​mix challenges which indicates that poverty is related not only to material deprivation but also relational deprivation. Hence, disadvantaged people should not only be given sufficient resources to have a reasonable standard of living but also the opportunity

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to choose to play the roles in family and society they value. It is important to stress that people may face user deficit. It is necessary to be aware of whether or not the government actions intended to eradicate poverty will eventually increase people’s vulnerability to material deprivation or relational deprivation, or both. Goal 3 Goal three of the 2030 Agenda is to ensure heathy lives and promote well-​ being for all ages (UN, 2015). Target 3.8 suggests achieving universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. Target 3d attaches importance to strengthening the capacity of all countries, in particular countries with low and medium income, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks. We support these two targets and therefore suggest providing workers and informal care providers with appropriate insurance schemes, which cover the health risk in the workplace and in the provision of informal care in the family. We are also aware that some measures taken by societies to respond to global health hazards such as the COVID-​19 pandemic add more burdens to informal care providers. The following are examples: • The closure of some settings for providing formal care gives informal care providers no choice but to spend more time on meeting the needs of those care receivers. • The travelling restrictions give people no choice but to work at home. Such an unplanned and involuntary home–​work integration arrangement, together with the failure of institutions to provide formal care, adds the caring responsibilities to people who work at home. • There is a lack of sufficient information for informal care providers to make important health decisions for themselves and those people whom they look after, such as whether or not to have vaccinations and whether or not to have long-​haul travelling. • The quarantine and bubbling policies have impacts on how to reset the boundaries of families. This disrupts the caring plans made by some informal care providers and informal care receivers: it is difficult for people to deliver care to their family members who are outside the bubble and it is equally difficult for people to avoid providing care to those family members who are within their bubble. It is suggested that governments should be aware of the negative impacts of actions for tackling the COVID-​19 pandemic on people’s caring lives.

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Goal 4 Goal four of the 2030 Agenda is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all (UN, 2015). Target 4.2 emphasises that all girls and boys should have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-​primary education so that they are ready for primary education (UN, 2015). To supplement this target, we suggest adding a target that young children should be given the choice to receive informal or formal care and education. Putting this suggestion into practice is useful in preventing involuntary participation of young children into inclusive early education. It may also enable parents to take part in the provision of education and care to their young children. Goal 5 Goal five of the 2030 Agenda is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls (UN, 2015). Target 5.4 emphasises recognising and valuing unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate. To create favourable conditions for recognising and valuing unpaid care, suggestions discussed in this chapter and the previous ones should be put into practice, such as providing informal care providers with insurance against health and financial risks, implementing the maximum caring hour policy, providing care providers with paid holidays and enabling them to choose to take up proximate care, distant care or both. For the purpose of giving care providers of young children a say in taking on caring responsibilities or not, it is also necessary to provide adequately subsidised childcare leave measures and ECEC. To promote shared responsibility within the household, it is important to ensure that both male and female members can access the same amount of adequately subsidised childcare leave. So male members who choose to play the role of the informal care provider in the family should be able to receive sufficient financial support. Target 5b stresses enhancing the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women (UN, 2015). This target can be achieved partly by adopting our suggestions on assisting women to choose whether to provide proximate care or distant care. In addition, it is important to consider meeting this target by giving women more choices about how to conduct home–​work integration. As mentioned in previous parts, at the same time as helping people to work at home, it is worth developing more policy measures 162

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to assist people to allow employees’ family members to receive care in work settings. Goal 8 Goal eight of the 2030 Agenda is to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all (UN, 2015). Target 8.3 is to promote the development-​oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation. We support this target. In the previous sections, we make suggestions concerning different kinds of home–​work integration, such as enabling people to provide informal care in their work settings. We also suggest promoting banking inclusion for informal care providers. Target 8.5 is to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal importance. It is important to recognise that the provision of (informal and formal) care is also a kind of production. Hence, its value should be recognised. Following the same logic, it is necessary to explore how to draw public attention to the importance of both self-​employment and self-​care. Target 8.8 is to protect labour rights and promote safe and secure working environments for all workers, including migrant workers, in particular women migrants, and those in precarious employment (UN, 2015). It is not unusual for female migrant workers to face double burdens. This means that at the same time as taking part in formal employment in a foreign country, they are required to provide transnational care to the family members living in their countries of origin. It is worth assisting them to provide transnational family care in various ways, such as giving them financial resources to travel between the host country and the country of their origin to provide proximate care and/​or giving them ICT support in providing distant care. In addition, double citizenship can offer migrant workers with the protection (such as health care cover) in both countries where they work and provide proximate care for their families respectively. Goal 10 Goal ten of the 2030 Agenda is to reduce inequality within and among countries. Target 10.1 is to achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population at a rate higher than the national average. We support the direction of this target because it to a certain extent conveys the message that the output side of inclusive growth should be promoted as much as the input side. However, we must stress that informal care providers should be given the opportunity to share the fruits of the economic growth too. 163

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Goal 11 Goal 11 of the 2030 Agenda is to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Target 11.4 is to strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage. To meet this target, we suggest recognising and discussing the value of ideas of some ideal societies such as the ‘commonweath’ in ancient China. As mentioned in Chapter 1, this ideal society provides the moral foundation for building an inclusively productive society. Europe 2020 As discussed in Chapter 1, Europe 2020 stresses the concept of growth (Kasprzyk and Wojnar, 2021; Walesiak, Dehnel and Obrebalski, 2021). One of its foci is on inclusive growth: fostering a high-​employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion. The EU has made important suggestions for enhancing inclusive growth (EC, 2010). These include promoting gender equality that will be needed to increase labour force participation, promoting access to childcare facilities, promoting work–​life balance, fully deploying the social security and pension systems and combating poverty. Our proposals about increasing people’s chances of meeting their diverse preferences on life-​mix are highly relevant to these suggestions. EU suggestion 1 This suggestion is about promoting the gender equality that will be needed to increase labour force participation and thus add to growth and social cohesion, and to promote access to childcare facilities. To ensure gender equality and increase labour force participation, we have suggested not only expanding ECEC but also ensuring that men and women have equal access to adequately compensated childcare leave. We have also suggested expanding both ECEC and the provision of adequately compensated childcare leave at the same time so that families can choose to provide care to their children or to outsource the care responsibilities to the public sector. EU suggestion 2 This suggestion is about promoting work–​life balance. We support this idea and propose that governments should carry out the maximum working hour policy. In addition to work–​life balance, care–​life balance should be emphasised too. This can be achieved by implementing the maximum caring hour policy. 164

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EU suggestion 3 This suggestion is about fully deploying the social security and pension systems. We suggest not only giving workers labour insurance against the financial risks and health risks but also providing similar insurance schemes for informal care providers in the family. We have also raised concerns about the negative impacts of increasing pension ages on both workers and informal care providers in Chapter 5. Furthermore, we have pointed out that an effective use of the early and late retirement pension policies can give people the choice to organise their lives based on measures under the supported adult worker model or the supported adult carer model. EU suggestion 4 This suggestion concerns combating poverty. As mentioned in our previous response to the 2030 Agenda, our understanding of poverty is indebted to the ideas of three life-​mix challenges (namely, life-​mix relational constraints, life-​mix material gaps and user deficits). It is necessary to safeguard people against the three life-​mix challenges. By reviewing and revising the 2030 Agenda and Europe 2020, we argue that a variety of solutions should be developed on the basis of both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model. This will enhance people’s chances of handling these problems concerning work and care in the ways that they prefer.

Going beyond the confines of pro-​market welfare reforms Social welfare has long been seen as a double-​edged sword to capitalism (Mishra, 1984). On the one hand, it has the potential to strengthen capital accumulation and increase the political legitimacy of capitalist governments (Offe, 1984; Walker, 1984). On the other hand, it may reduce people’s incentive to work and thus challenge the commodity relationship –​which refers to the exchange relationship between the buyers and sellers of the labour power in the market (Chau, 1995). Such a relationship is commonly seen as the core of capitalism. In order to defend this commodity relationship, East Asian and non-​East Asian governments have been providing different kinds of welfare reforms over the past few decades. Pro-​market welfare reforms One way to reduce the negative impacts of social welfare on the commodity relationship is to reconstruct social welfare based on welfare residualism (Mishra, 1981; Chau, 1995; Yu, 1996; Chau and Yu, 2001). This normative 165

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idea emphasises that social welfare should be organised as close to the residual welfare model as possible (Yu, Chau and Jung, 2020). This model is founded on the assumption that the market and the family are the natural channels for meeting people’s needs, and the government should only perform the role of secondary provider of welfare (Titmuss, 1974). The development of social welfare in East Asia is under the heavy influence of welfare residualism, especially before the 1990s (Chau and Yu, 2005; Karim, Eikemo and Bambra, 2010). It was not unusual that East Asian governments focused on regulating other sectors to provide welfare instead of playing the role of direct provider of welfare (Aspalter, 2006). Moreover, they were keen to contain the financial challenges of social welfare to the economy (Yu, 1996). This to a certain extent explains why their commitment to direct provision of essential welfare measures was limited and highly selective. For example, the social security measures in Taiwan and South Korea in the pre-​80s period were mainly designed to serve elite groups such as civil servants and military personnel (Jung, 2009; Hsieh and Tung, 2016; Yu, Foster, Chau and Yu, 2021). The public assistance provided by the Hong Kong SAR government was explicitly based on the residual welfare model (Yu et al, 2020). Its level of benefits was low and the applicants were required to go through stringent means tests and wealth tests. The post-​war welfare states in the West relied significantly on two pillars –​ one was Keynesian and the other was Beveridgean (Mishra, 1984). While Keynesianism represents state intervention from the demand side of the economy to ensure a high level of economic activity and full employment, the Beveridgean notion of insurance stresses the state responsibility for maintaining a minimum standard of living. Both Keynes and Beveridge assume that a certain form of state intervention and service provision can complement the market economy and the commodity relationship. However, due to the economic problems in the 1970s, such as stagnation and increasing instability of international economies, there was the rising influence of neo-​ liberalism, backed up by supply-​side economics, in the reconstruction of the welfare state (Mishra, 1984; Walker, 1984; Scharpf, 1991). This ideology gives support to the welfare reforms in favour of welfare residualism. The significance of welfare residualism is manifested in the government’s use of residualisation measures to shrink its role as a direct welfare provider (Chau and Yu, 2003). An example of these measures is the sale of public housing in the UK (Forrest and Murie, 1988). By implementing these measures, the UK government turned council houses into private properties, changed the status of the tenants from housing welfare users to house owners and eventually reduced its role as the provider of housing welfare (Yu, 1997). In the 1990s, the governments in both the East and the West utilised welfare-​to-​work measures to reduce the negative effects of social welfare on the commodity relationships (Heron and Dwyer, 1999; Yu, 2008). 166

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They actively supported people to take part in paid work and provided the economically inactive only with residualised welfare (Chau, 2012). For example, with the stress on ‘work for those who can and security for those who can’t’ (Heron and Dwyer, 1999, p 92), the UK New Labour government delivered the New Deal schemes to encourage welfare users to take up jobs. In almost the same period, the Hong Kong government implemented welfare-​to-​work programmes to encourage single parents to engage in work (Yu, 2008). It stressed that ‘Low pay is better than no pay and the CSSA is a safety-​net and a last resort’ (Social Welfare Department, 1998, p 14). It believed that encouraging more users to take part in formal employment could tackle the dependency culture and reduce the number of welfare dependents (Social Welfare Department, 2006). Policy strategies on productivism Whether policy strategies on productivism can function as more than the tools of pro-​market welfare reforms is subject to debate. Some argue that welfare reforms based on the notion of productive welfare are different from the previous pro-​market welfare reforms. For example, Hemerijck (2018) argues that the social investment paradigm is different from the Keynesian demand management and neo-​classical supply-​side economics because this paradigm is future-​oriented with the focus on preparing people to respond to the new risks of a competitive knowledge economy. However, it is important to note that policy strategies based on the pro-​work interpretation of productivism can have a close connection with the pro-​market welfare reforms based on welfare residualism and the welfare-​to-​work ideas. As with the latter, the former rewards those who are more willing and/​or able to commodify their labour power at the expense of those who are less willing and/​or able to do so. Social divisions created by these measures can reinforce the supremacy of the commodity relationships over other kinds of social relationships, and the supremacy of the market over other institutions in the allocation and creation of wealth. As shown in Chapter 4, paid childcare leave in most of the seven countries/​territories can financially support mothers to provide care to their young children for a certain period of time. However, if some mothers choose to look after their children as full-​time care providers for a long period of time, they may become vulnerable to the motherhood penalty. This is because they may not receive sufficient government support to maintain a reasonable standard of living after the period of paid childcare leave. To meet people’s diverse life-​mix preferences, policy strategies on productivism must have a wider scope than pro-​market welfare reforms. To do so, it is important to respect and recognise the equal importance of policies based on both pro-​work and pro-​care productivism. One example 167

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of this is to stress four types of inclusive growth –​inclusive growth (input) for workers, inclusive growth (input) for informal care providers, inclusive growth (output) for workers and inclusive growth (output) for informal care providers (for details, please refer to Chapter 2). Another example is to develop policy measures on the basis of a broader interpretation of flexibility and security. As discussed in Chapter 7, a broader interpretation of flexibility stresses not only whether people can successfully change their roles around entry into and/​or exit from the labour market (such as from unemployed to employed), but also whether they can make other changes in relation to productivism throughout their lives –​such as changes ‘from informal care providers to workers’, from ‘workers to informal care providers’, ‘from workers to employers’ and ‘from employers to informal care providers’. In addition to security as it is understood by Wilthagen and Tros (2004) (job security, employment security, income security and combination security), we have stressed that attention should be paid to several forms of security related to the provision of informal care (please refer to the previous sections and Chapter 6). Emphasising the importance of developing policy strategies on productivism based on a broader interpretation of flexibility and security means that people’s wishes to perform the role of informal care provider and organise a decommodified life should be supported.

Conclusion Chapter 1 suggests using a ‘not-​yet approach’ to build an inclusively productive society. While this ideal society may not be fully realised in the near future, it should not be assumed as not practicable. More favourable conditions should be created to materialise the main ideas of this ideal society. As discussed in the previous chapters, an important near-​future goal is to increase people’s chances of meeting their diverse life-​mix preferences. So, all the suggestions of creating the favourable conditions for meeting these preferences should be seen as important actions for supporting the implementation of the ‘not-​yet approach’.

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9

New dimensions to contemporary welfare ideas Introduction As with Chapter 8, this chapter is concerned with creating favourable conditions for meeting people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix. By focusing on nine contemporary welfare ideas (namely, social investment, inclusive growth, defamilisation/​familisation, the capability approach, flexicurity, active aging, degenderisation, social exclusion and social quality), we intend to demonstrate how these welfare ideas can uphold the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. As discussed in previous chapters, this principle stresses that people should have a choice to organise their lives based on pro-​care or pro-​work productivism. These nine welfare ideas are closely related to the debate on relational deprivation and material deprivation, and the formulation of important welfare goals (Lister, 1994; Levitas, 1998; Sen, 1999; Walker, 2002; Lewis and Plomien, 2009; Morel, Palier and Palme, 2012; Van der Maesen and Walker, 2012; Foster and Walker, 2013; Saxonberg, 2013; Hemerijck, 2015; Lohmann and Zagel, 2016; Deeming and Smyth, 2018; Kurowska, 2018; Elson and Seth, 2019) (see Table 9.1). If the interpretations of these welfare ideas are in favour of both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model, they will increase the influence of protected autonomy in life-​mix in society. Two analytical tasks are carried out in this chapter. The first is to discuss the potential of the nine welfare ideas in supporting governments’ policies for enhancing the principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. The second focuses on searching for ways to translate this potential into practical solutions. As stressed in Chapter 1, this book is not only for fulfilling academic interest but also for finding ways to improve people’s lives. To carry out the second task, we make short-​and long-​term suggestions. The short-​term suggestion is concerned with encouraging governments to interpret welfare ideas based on both pro-​care and pro-​work productivism. The long-​term suggestion is about uniting welfare ideas which favour pro-​ work and/​or pro-​care productivism to consolidate the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. The discussion in this chapter starts with a brief review of the principle of protected autonomy of life-​mix. This is followed by an exploration of the key features and the new dimensions of the nine welfare concepts in relation 169

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 9.1: Welfare ideas and welfare goals Welfare ideas

Welfare goals

Social investment

To promote the productive dimensions of welfare

Inclusive growth

To make the fruits of economic growth more equitably shared

Defamilisation/​familisation responses

To provide people with the opportunities to choose the roles to play or not to play in the family

The capability approach

To ensure that people have the positive freedom to acquire valued functionings through the provision of public policies

Flexicurity

To enable people to respond to events during their life course with security

Active ageing

To optimise opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance the quality of life as people age

Degenderisation

To reduce the importance of gender in deciding the division of responsibilities in important social domains

Approaches to social exclusion

To reduce people’s vulnerability to being involuntarily excluded from important activities in society

Social quality

To enable people to participate in the social, economic and cultural life in the community to enhance their well-​being and individual potential

to this principle. In introducing the two suggestions, we apply the concepts of external homogeneity and internal heterogeneity to discuss how the nine welfare ideas could be jointly or independently used to promote the principle. In the conclusion, we argue for the importance of an ongoing review of welfare ideas (those included and not included in this chapter), with dual emphasis on pro-​work and pro-​care productivism and a continuing search for other welfare principles which could improve people’s lives regardless of their role in work, care and/​or other aspects of life.

Protected autonomy in life-​mix As discussed in Chapter 1, protected autonomy in life-​mix refers to the availability of sufficient opportunities for people to choose to participate in the work economy as a worker or to provide informal care in the family, and the choice they make will not undermine their chances of having a reasonable standard of living. In view of this definition, there are three types of government-​organised actions that can uphold this welfare principle, and thus create more favourable conditions for meeting people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix: 170

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• the actions that support people to take part in the work economy and/​ or to provide informal care in the family; • the actions that ensure a reasonable standard of living for people who intend to or actually take part in production either through paid work or informal care; • the actions that support people who want to or need to change their roles in production either through paid work or informal care. As shown in later parts of this chapter, these nine welfare ideas can have a mixed relationship with the principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. They have the potential to provide ideological support to governments to promote this welfare principle; while at the same time, policy measures derived from these welfare ideas may also bring different effects to people’s lives.

Welfare ideas This section briefly discusses the nine welfare ideas and explores under what conditions discussion of these ideas can be used to support governments in promoting protected autonomy in life-​mix. Social investment Social investment is commonly seen as the driving force behind the EU’s attempt to turn Europe into a competitive economy (Hemerijck, 2018; Kvist, 2018). As highlighted in Chapter 2, Hemerijck (2015; 2018) suggests that governments may need to make use of their policy measures to carry out three interrelated functions for workers: ‘flow’, ‘stock’ and ‘buffer’. In view of these three functions, it can be said that the discussion of social investment supports pro-​work productivism in three ways. It encourages people to take part in the work economy as workers. It recognises that people may need support from the government when they change their roles in the work economy and/​or family during their life course. It supports the provision of safety-​net measures to those people in employment and jobseekers. If the safety-​net measures offer generous financial benefits, the receivers will have a good chance of having a reasonable standard of living during employment or between jobs. To link the social investment research to the search for ways of upholding the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix, it is important to stress not only pro-​work productivism but also pro-​care productivism. In Chapter 2 we suggested that governments adopting social investment ideas should carry out three equivalent functions (‘flow’, ‘stock’ and ‘buffer’) for informal care providers. 171

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It is important to emphasise two points here. There is no guarantee that governments are willing to promote social investment with an equal stress on pro-​work and pro-​care productivism. Some governments may give the priority of social investment to people other than the workers or the providers of the informal care. For instance, some governments may regard children as future workers and attempt to develop them through social investment projects rather than promoting protected autonomy in life-​mix for existing workers or carers. Inclusive growth Inclusive growth is concerned with making the fruits of economic growth more equitably shared. As discussed in Chapter 2, the examination of this concept covers a wide range of issues. These include the input side of inclusive growth, the output side of inclusive growth, the welfare of workers and the welfare of informal care providers. In view of this broad coverage, it can be said that the discussion of this concept can serve to reinforce both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model, and thus protected autonomy in life-​mix. However, not all forms of inclusion are desirable. As discussed in Chapter 2, some forms of inclusion such as injurious inclusion and precarious inclusion put people’s welfare under threat (Elson and Fontana, 2019). To assist people to avoid undesirable forms of inclusion, it is necessary to provide people with the opportunity to choose to be excluded if they want to be (Chau and Yu, 2002). To do so, governments may need to take actions to guarantee that people can have a reasonable standard of living if they choose not to take part in production as a worker or as a provider of informal care. It is important to note that these government actions can challenge rather than promote pro-​care and pro-​work productivism. Familisation and defamilisation The studies of familisation and defamilisation provide insights into the discussion of a lack of individual freedom from compulsion to enter into potentially oppressive relationships in the family (Lister, 1994; Kroger, 2011; Israel and Spannagel, 2019). Based on these studies, Chapter 2 contains discussion of the concepts of defamilisation risks and familisation risks. The former can be understood as a lack of sufficient opportunities to choose not to perform a particular role (such as the role of informal carer or financial provider) in the family and at the same time maintain a socially acceptable standard of living; and the latter can be understood as a lack of sufficient opportunities to choose to perform a particular role in the family and at the same time maintain a socially acceptable standard of living. The examination 172

New dimensions to welfare ideas Table 9.2: Defamilisation and familisation measures Goals

Tactics

Defamilisation/​ familisation measures

To empower people to choose not to take To support people to part in the family as a financial dependent seek a reasonably paid job

Defamilisation

To provide people with the opportunities To support people to and resources to take part in the family as seek a reasonably paid a provider of financial support job

Familisation

To assist people to take part in the family To give people generous Familisation as an informal care provider and at the carers’ allowances same time to have resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living To give people the opportunities to avoid taking part in the family as the main care provider

To outsource the family care responsibilities to the public sector

Defamilisation

of these two kinds of risks provides justifications for the defamilisation and familisation measures made by governments. Table 9.2 shows examples of these measures. Defamilisation and familisation measures can have a positive impact on protected autonomy in life-​mix. By shifting some care responsibilities from the family to the public sector, governments can reduce the informal care providers’ caring responsibilities and give them more time to take part in formal employment. This action not only enables people to reduce their role as an informal care provider (defamilisation) but also enables them to organise their lives based on the supported adult worker model. By financially subsidising people to provide informal care to their family, governments not only support people to take part in the family as an informal care provider (familisation) but also support them to organise their lives based on the supported adult carer model. If a government adopts both defamilisation and familisation measures, it may be able to strengthen protected autonomy in life-​mix. However, some governments may not be willing to promote both supported adult models. Instead, some may attach importance to only one model, and as a result some people’s life-​mix preferences are met but at the expense of others’. To illustrate this point, we present ten types of families in Table 9.3. Evidently there are many different forms of family in real life. For instance, some families may have more than one female or male adult who have different and possibly conflicting life-​mix preferences, and more than one care receiver who have various care needs and preferences. These ten family types are in no way exhaustive but they provide a range of scenarios to show the potential differences between families in terms of 173

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 9.3: Ten types of family Type A • Both male and female adults prefer to spend most of the time on paid work • Family care receivers prefer formal care

Type F • The adult in the single-​parent family prefers to spend most of his/​her time on paid work • Family care receivers prefer formal care

Type B • Both male and female adults prefer to spend some time on paid work and some time on providing informal care • Family care receivers prefer informal care provided in the family

Type G • The adult in the single-​parent family prefers to spend most of his/​her time on providing informal care • Family care receivers prefer informal care provided in the family

Type C • The male adult prefers to spend most of the time on paid work, whereas the female adult prefers to spend most of the time on providing informal care • Family care receivers prefer informal care provided in the family

Type H • The adult in the single-​parent family prefers to spend most of his/​her time on paid work • Family care receivers prefer informal care provided in the family

Type D • The female adult prefers to spend most of the time on paid work, whereas the male adult prefers to spend most of the time on providing informal care • Family care receivers prefer informal care provided in the family

Type I • The adults in the family prefer self-​employment • Family care receivers prefer informal care provided in the family

Type E • Both the female adult and the male adult prefer to spend most of their time on paid work • Family care receivers prefer informal care provided in the family

Type J • The female and male adults in the family prefer to spend most of their time on paid work • Family care receivers prefer self-​care

their members’ life-​mix preferences and family care receivers’ preferences for care. If a government adopts defamilisation/​familisation measures solely based on the supported adult worker model, it will only support members in family types A and F and some members in the family types B, C, D, E, H, I and J, but it will not bring benefits to anyone in the family type G. It is important to note that even if a government adopts defamilisation/​ familisation measures with the dual emphasis on both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model, it will not meet the life-​mix preferences of people in all ten types of family. For instance, people’s life-​mix preferences in family types E, H and I are not in harmony with each other, so it is difficult for the government to ensure that its defamilisation/​ familisation measures can meet the life-​mix preferences of all members in these families. The government may need to take more radical actions. For instance, it may need to introduce fostering and/​or adoption policies to assist family dependents to leave their original families and join others that 174

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provide informal care. But this may arouse objections from other members of the original families. If the government chooses not to take these radical actions, it may need to urge some family members to give up their life-​mix preferences or the care receivers to change their preferences for care. In both circumstances, the government’s actions can result in redistribution of the familisation/​defamilisation risks between the family members instead of meeting all members’ life-​mix preferences. The capability approach As discussed in Chapter 2, the capability approach emphasises the importance of giving people the positive freedom to acquire valued functionings through the provision of public policies. Studies of this approach are often associated with the discussion of the adult worker models and defamilisation (Lewis and Giullari, 2005; Kurowska, 2018; Yu, Chau and Kühner, 2018). This is because these studies provide justifications to the government’s attempts to give women (and men) the resources to choose not to take up the care responsibilities in the family so as to have more time to take part in formal employment. In other words, the implementation of this approach may lead to shifting some of the family responsibilities to the public sector. There is also a possibility that people see providing informal care in the family as a way of life they value. Thus, emphasising the capability approach may also serve to lend legitimacy to the government’s actions to assist people to organise their lives based on pro-​care productivism. However, it is important to note the limitations of the capability approach in guiding governments to assist people to lead the lives they prefer when there are conflicts of interest between family members. Family type E in Table 9.3 provides the example for this point. In this family type, both the female and male adults prefer spending most of their time in working life but their care receiver prefers informal care provided in the family. To ensure that the care receiver can receive sufficient informal care in the family, the government may need to legally require one of the two adults to spend more time as an informal care provider. This means that to help some members in this family to realise the lifestyle they value may require the government to restrict the freedom of other family members to realise the lifestyle they value. So it can be said that it will be easier to make use of the capability approach to support the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix if the ways that the members in a family realise their valued lifestyle are in harmony with each other. Flexicurity Flexicurity is made up of the elements ‘flexibility’ and ‘security’. Different analysts have different interpretations of these two elements (Viebrock 175

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and Clasen, 2009; Burroni and Keune, 2011). As discussed in Chapter 6, the concept of flexicurity may not necessarily be understood as the ways employers manage human resources. It can also be understood as how people respond to life events during their life courses. For this reason, we have emphasised Petre’s (2014) view on flexibility. Such a view stresses that flexibility can reflect the changes of achievements throughout life. These changes can be from school to workplace, from one workplace to another, from unemployment to re-​employment and from work to retirement. Some forms of flexibility are related to life-​mix, such as the changes people make ‘from being workers to being informal care providers’, ‘from being workers to being self-​employed’, ‘from being informal care providers to being workers’ and ‘from being informal care providers to being self-​cared’. In Chapter 6, we have highlighted various forms of security for workers (job security, employment security, income security, ontological security and combination security) and for informal care providers (specific caring relationship, caring role security, income security, ontological security and combination security), and that the provision of different forms of security represents the provision of different kinds of resources (such as job opportunities, opportunities for providing informal care, financial resources and information). On the condition that all of these resources are available, we can identify four possible relationships between security and flexibility. The first relationship is that security serves as the means of flexibility. For example, governments give people financial resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living when they are in the transition between jobs. These financial resources may mean people can afford to spend more time on looking for a job that they cherish. By doing so, these financial resources function as income security, which supports people to change their role from being unemployed to becoming employed again. The second relationship is that security is the outcome of flexibility. An example of this kind of security is employment security. After people successfully change their job (exercising their flexibility in the labour market), they can keep themselves in employment and gain security. The third relationship is that security is both the means and the outcome of flexibility. This relationship can happen if two conditions are fulfilled: first, the type of security concerned serves to create favourable conditions for people to change the role they play during their life courses, and second, after people successfully make this change, this kind of security will be further reinforced. An example of this type of security is ontological security. If people understand why they need to change their role, they may have more confidence to do so. If they can successfully make the changes that they expect, their sense of order and continuity about their caring lives or working lives will be strengthened. The last relationship is that security and flexibility have no direct connection. For example, governments may 176

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provide people with financial resources as a kind of income security to maintain a reasonable standard of living, regardless of people’s intentions to achieve flexibility. Governments’ actions to put the ideas of flexicurity into practice can have positive effects on protected autonomy in life-​mix if two conditions are met: • the government recognises the importance of providing security for both workers and informal care providers; • the security provided by the government is directly connected with the flexibility expected of people in the job market or caring settings. The direct connection between security and flexibility may take several forms: security is provided as the means of flexibility, as the outcome of flexibility or as both the means and the outcome of flexibility. However, there is no guarantee that these two conditions exist. Governments may be willing to provide security for workers but not for informal care providers. Some governments may give people some forms of security regardless of people’s intentions to perform the roles of care providers and/​or workers but the level of security is limited or partial. In these two cases, there is no guarantee that governments’ attempts to promote flexicurity can result in reinforcing protected autonomy in life-​mix. Active ageing While demographic ageing is a cause for celebration, it creates challenges in many countries (Walker, 2002; 2009; Foster and Walker, 2013). An important policy response to the demographic ageing is active ageing (WHO, 2002; EC, 2012). The ideas of active ageing were discussed as early as in the 1950s when the activity perspective in gerontology was developed (Walker, 2002), and have recently gained growing importance as a policy framework across countries (Foster, 2012b). There is a lack of universally agreed views on the relative desirability of the ways of achieving active ageing (Foster, 2012b). Many governments only see the concept as a narrowly productivist one (Foster and Walker, 2013). They focus on assisting older people to take part or continue with a working life. The influence of the productivist approach to active ageing is evident. The Lisbon Agenda, which set the strategic framework EU policies between 2000 and 2010, included the key targets to increase by 50 per cent the employment rate of those aged 55–​65 years and the average retirement age by five years (Zaidi and Zolyomi, 2011). In advising its member states to carry out active ageing policies, the EC (2001, p 50) presented this view: ‘By adopting measures to maintain working capacity and skills of older workers, to introduce flexible working arrangements, and to 177

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raise employers’ awareness of older worker’s potential. … Removing disincentives and creating incentives for them to remain active in the labour market.’ Similar ideas were discussed in the EC’s ‘2009 Ageing Report’ (EC, 2009b), which stresses the importance of raising the retirement age, restricting access to early retirement schemes and a stronger link between pension benefits and contributions to create better incentives to remain in the labour market. However, not all analysts and international organisations are devoted supporters of the productivist approach to active ageing; some emphasise the significance of studying active ageing from a broader perspective. In discussing the notion of active ageing, the WHO draws attention to the link between activity, health independence and successful ageing: ‘active ageing is the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance the quality of life as people age’ (WHO, 2002, p 12). This interpretation of active ageing emphasises a general lifestyle strategy for the preservation of physical and mental health as people age rather than just lengthening their working life (Walker and Maltby, 2012). In line with this interpretation, Walker (2002) argues that the activities of active ageing include all meaningful pursuits which can contribute to the well-​being of the individuals concerned; and this means that ‘non-​economic’ activities such as volunteering should be as valued as paid employment. Walker (2009) also argues that putting the ideas of active ageing into practice involves the maintenance of intergenerational solidarity. This implies not only upholding the principle of fairness in the allocation of resources between generations but also promoting the opportunities for different generations to enhance the welfare of each other. The discussion of the productivist approach and a more comprehensive approach to active ageing provides insights into the examination of the importance of governments’ active ageing policies in upholding protected autonomy in life-​mix. To illustrate this point, we show how these two approaches are related to ten types of intergenerational relationships (see Table 9.4). In different intergenerational relationships, older people may perform different roles, such as receivers of financial support, receivers of informal care, informal care providers and providers of financial support. Although this list is not exhaustive, it shows the range of potential variations. As the productivist approach to active ageing is closely associated with the supported adult worker model, those governments emphasising this approach are likely to focus on assisting older people to play the role of provider of financial support in the intergenerational relationship in certain ways, such as:

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New dimensions to welfare ideas Table 9.4: Intergenerational relationships Types of intergenerational The roles of older people and conditions for the performance relationship of these roles Type A: Older people act as providers of financial support, whereas some of their younger family members act as receivers of financial support

Older people are responsible for making financial contribution to the family, whereas their younger family member plays the role of the receiver of financial support. The possible reasons for such an arrangement include: 1) older family members are able to earn wages in the work economy; 2) they are supported by generous pension schemes; and 3) they earn profits from running a business or investment.

Type B: Older people act as providers of both care and financial support in the family

Older people make financial contributions to the family and also meet the caring needs of the family members. In this relationship, some family members of other generations act as receivers of the care and financial support. If retired older people can gain generous income regularly from their pension schemes, they may have both the time and financial resources to take part in this kind of intergenerational relationship.

Type C: Older people act as providers of care, whereas their younger family members act as providers of financial support

Retired older people may use their time resources to care for their younger family members in this kind of intergenerational relationship. The responsibility of financial support rests with the younger generations.

Type D: All adults play the dual role as financial and care provider

All adults of different generations (including older people) provide care and financial contribution to the family. Generous pension schemes and other sources of income may enable older people to take part in this intergenerational relationship.

Type E: All adults play the role of financial provider

Adults of different generations in the family (including older people) make financial contributions to the family.

Type F: Caregiver parity pattern of older people

Older people take up the care responsibilities in the family and their value of performing this role is recognised by the government. For example, some governments may provide carers’ allowance schemes to enable older people to take part in this relationship.

Type G: Older people act as financial dependents, whereas their younger family members act as financial providers in the family

Older people rely on financial support from their younger members of the family. Whether older people can take part in this relationship depends on whether younger members are willing and able to provide the financial support they need.

Type H: Older people act as care receivers, whereas their younger family members act as care providers in the family

Older people rely on the caring support provided by their younger family members. Whether older people are able to take part in this relationship depends on whether younger family members are able and willing to provide the care they need.

Type I: Older people are Older people do not receive care from the family nor act as neither care providers nor family carers. Older people may need to seek support from care receivers in the family other sources or take care of themselves. Type J: Older people are neither financial providers nor financial support receivers

Older people do not receive financial support from the family nor act as financial providers in the family. Older people may need to seek financial support from other sources such as the government or pensions.

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• supporting older people to play the role of the main provider of financial support while their younger family member acts as the receiver of the financial support (type A); • assisting older people to act as providers of both care and financial support in the family (type B); • assisting older people to follow the universal provider of financial support model of all adults (type D). However, there is no guarantee that all older people support these kinds of intergenerational relationships. If older people prefer the role of informal care provider only, they will wish to engage themselves in other intergenerational relationships, such as by following the caregiver parity pattern of older people (type F) or acting as providers of care, and expect their younger family members to be the providers of financial support (type C). So if the government adopts a more comprehensive approach to active ageing, it will assist older people to explore more choices about how to organise their lives. By doing so, it is more likely to emphasise both the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model, and as a result reinforce protected autonomy in life-​mix. It is important to note that active ageing policies can function as more than assisting older people to perform the role of a worker and/​or an informal care provider. They may support older people to choose to perform the role of care receiver in the family and/​or to live a life independently of the intergenerational relationships. These options can have no direct connection with protected autonomy in life-​mix (see Table 9.4). So studies of active ageing can be used to strengthen the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix only when these studies stress the comprehensive approach to active ageing and focus on looking after the interests of older workers and older informal care providers. Degenderisation Degenderisation is concerned with the elimination of gender roles (Saxonberg, 2013; Saxonberg and Szelewa, 2021). There are three main ways of achieving a high degree of degenderisation. The first is to give men and women the opportunity to choose to organise their lives based on the supported adult worker model or the supported adult carer model. The second is to provide equal opportunities for men and women to take part in formal employment, and to rely on the government to meet most of people’s caring needs. The third is to put the ideas of the dual carer/​worker model into practice. By doing so, men and women in the family share the caring responsibilities and work equally. The first way of promoting degenderisation is to give people plenty of freedom to choose how to organise their adult 180

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life. By doing so, protected autonomy in life-​mix can be reinforced. The second way of promoting degenderisation ensures that every adult can take part in formal employment. However, there is no guarantee that those who wish to provide informal care in the family have sufficient opportunity to do so. The third way of promoting degenderisation ensures that both men and women can organise their lives with the emphasis on both pro-​care and pro-​work productivism. However, there is no guarantee that they have a high degree of autonomy in choosing their working and caring lives. Different ways of enhancing degenderisation can bring different advantages. As shown in Chapter 2, the second way of enhancing degenderisation can reduce the caring costs borne by the family and encourage the society to share the caring responsibilities in a collective way. The third way of enhancing degenderisation can achieve a high degree of gender equity. But there is no guarantee that these two approaches to degenderisation can be effective in helping people to achieve a high degree of protected autonomy in life-​mix. This implies that not all forms of degenderisation can support this welfare principle. Approaches to social exclusion As shown in Chapter 2, Levitas (1998) suggests three different discourses on social exclusion: moral underclass discourse (MUD), socially integrated discourse (SID) and redistributive discourse (RED). Each discourse supports its own approach to social exclusion: the MUD approach, the SID approach and the RED approach. These three approaches have different relationships with the supported adult worker model and/​or the supported adult carer model, and have different effects on protected autonomy in life-​mix (see Table 9.5). MUD is closely related to residualism (Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021). It blames people’s moral and cultural characters for people’s exclusion from work (Levitas, Table 9.5: Three approaches to social exclusion Approaches

Corresponding model of Remarks work and care

MUD

Unsupported adult worker model

This approach stresses that people should be encouraged to take part in the work economy through minimal government support.

SID

Supported adult worker model

This approach stresses that the government should perform an active role in assisting people to establish a foothold in the work economy.

RED

Supported adult worker model and supported adult carer model

This approach stresses the importance of enabling people to exercise their social rights to organise their working and caring lives.

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1998). Founded on this understanding, the MUD approach encourages governments to make welfare cuts as a means to reduce people’s dependency on welfare and give people greater incentive to take part in the labour market. So it can be said that the MUD approach serves to reinforce the unsupported adult worker model. The SID approach emphasises making excluded people more employable. This means that this approach reinforces the supported adult worker model. The RED approach focuses on promoting the social rights of socially excluded groups. The supporters of this approach favour extensive redistribution of resources in society that can enable disadvantaged people to have a reasonable standard of living without taking part in the labour market. As a result, it can increase disadvantaged people’s bargaining power in the labour market and help them improve their working conditions. It can also make it easier for disadvantaged people to choose to play the role of informal care provider in the family. In this sense it can be said that the RED approach has the potential to support people to choose to organise their life based on the supported adult worker model or the supported adult carer model. If a government supports the RED approach, it is likely to make efforts to uphold protected autonomy in life-​mix. However, we should not rule out the possibility that governments may favour the MUD or the SID approach and therefore not be able to promote protected autonomy in life-​mix. Social quality Social quality is commonly understood as ‘the extent to which people are able to participate in the social, economic and cultural lives of their communities under conditions which enhance their wellbeing and individual potential’ (van der Maesen and Walker, 2012, p 1). It was originally proposed as a standard to measure the extent to which people’s daily lives have attained an acceptable level for the EU (Beck et al, 1997). Over the past two decades, it has increasingly been applied to other non-​Western countries such as those in East Asia (Walker, 2008; Chau and Yu, 2009). In developing the concept of social quality with the aim of challenging the unequal relationship between social policy and economic policy, analysts demand that the government should make greater commitments to the provision of economic and social conditions of people to organise their lives (Walker, 2008). They argue that an acceptable level of social quality will be achieved only if a collective strategy for gaining socio-​economic security, social inclusion, social cohesion and empowerment are secured (Walker and Maesen, 2003). Given that different adults can have different views on the relative importance of a working and a caring life, they may have different preferences on these two kinds of social quality: the pro-​work and the pro-​care. The pro-​work social quality is concerned with the extent to which workers are able to have their well-​being and individual potential enhanced through 182

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participating in the social, economic and cultural lives of their communities. The pro-​care social quality is concerned with the extent to which informal care providers can have their well-​being and individual potential enhanced by taking part in the social, economic and cultural lives of their communities. In exploring ways of promoting social quality, analysts (Foster, Tomlinson and Walker, 2019, p 6) stress four conditional factors which regulate the extent to which people can participate socially under conditions that enhance their well-​being and potential: • socio-​economic security: levels of command over material and other resources over time; • social cohesion: the extent to which norms and values are accepted and shared; • social inclusion: the extent to which people have access to and are integrated into the wide variety of institutions and social relations which constitute everyday life; • social empowerment: the extent to which social structures, relations and institutions enhance individuals’ personal capabilities as social actors. Following this logic, pro-​work social quality and pro-​care social quality can be achieved by strengthening these four factors through the implementation of the pro-​work and pro-​care social quality strategy. The details of these two strategies are shown in Tables 9.6 and 9.7.

Table 9.6: Pro-​work social quality strategy Conditional factors

Collective actions

Socio-​economic security

People should be given sufficient opportunities to gain a job that is reasonably paid. Those who want to lead a working life can have a decent standard of living. The problem of the working poor should be prevented.

Social cohesion

Social cohesion can be strengthened by increasing intergenerational solidarity. To achieve this, people of different generations should be given equal opportunities to access the work economy. To fulfil this purpose, the right of people of different ages to work should be respected and supported. Age discrimination in the job market should be eradicated.

Social inclusion

To achieve social inclusion, people’s rights to work should be respected.

Empowerment

Workers should be given the opportunities to take part in the decision-​making process concerning the provision of occupational welfare. Moreover, they should have a say about how working life is constructed and how retirement life is prepared.

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Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 9.7: Pro-​care social quality strategy Conditional factors

Collective actions

Socio-​economic security

People should have the opportunities not only to play the role of informal care provider but also to receive sufficient financial support for doing so. The problem of the care penalty should be prevented.

Social cohesion

The solidarity between members in society should be strengthened. The informal care providers should be seen as active participants of production rather than economic dependents. Their contributions to production especially in enriching human resources and protecting people in need should be given sufficient recognition.

Social inclusion

The social rights of informal care providers should be protected.

Empowerment

Informal care providers should be given the opportunities to construct their caring lives. They should have a say on issues such as when to start and end their caring lives, and how care responsibilities are allocated in the family.

Protected autonomy in life-​mix can be reinforced if the government carries out both the pro-​work and the pro-​care social quality strategies. However, in reality the government may be willing to promote only one of them, and thus this undermines the chance of effectively upholding protected autonomy in life-​mix.

Suggestions The nine welfare ideas can have a reciprocal relationship with governments’ actions to promote protected autonomy in life-​mix. On the one hand, they can provide ideological support to governments’ actions. On the other hand, governments’ actions can put these welfare ideas into practice. Table 9.8 shows examples of the connection between governments’ actions and these welfare ideas. However, there is no guarantee that the government is willing to carry out all the actions concerned. Some governments may only take the pro-​work actions but not the pro-​care actions. As a result, those people who prefer a caring life receive much less government support than those who wish to lead a working life. So our short-​term suggestion is concerned with advocating for more government intervention based on the interpretation of welfare ideas of both pro-​work and pro-​care productivism. To do so, it is worth drawing attention to the life-​mix challenges resulting from governments’ reluctance of giving equal recognition to the two types of production activity –​work and care. It is equally worth encouraging people to voice their experiences of the life-​mix challenges they face –​life-​ mix relational constraints, life-​mix material gaps and user deficits. These 184

New dimensions to welfare ideas Table 9.8: Examples of pro-​working life and pro-​caring life actions Welfare ideas

Examples of pro-​working life Examples of pro-​caring life actions actions

Social investment (flow)

To provide people with sufficient support to maintain a reasonable standard of living when they change their role from an informal family care provider to being a worker

To provide people with sufficient support to maintain a reasonable standard of living when they change their role from a worker to an informal care provider

Social investment (stock)

To prepare people to take part in the work economy by giving them the opportunities to receive vocational training

To prepare people to play the role of informal family care provider by giving them the opportunities to take some training courses (for example, parenting and grandparenting courses)

Social investment (buffer)

To give people financial protection after they lose their jobs

To give people financial protection after they lose the opportunities to play the role of informal care providers

Inclusive growth (input)

To give people working opportunities

To give people the opportunities to provide informal care in the family

Inclusive growth (output)

To give workers the To provide informal care providers with the opportunities to share the access to the fruits of economic growth fruits of the economy growth

Defamilisation

To support people to work so that they have sufficient resources to choose not to take part in the family as financial dependents

Familisation

To support people to work so To financially support people to take part in that people concerned can the family as an informal care provider take part in the family as the provider of financial support

Capability enhancing

To support people to make important decisions about their career so that their potential to value their working lives can receive recognition and respect

To financially support people to provide informal care in the family so that people concerned have sufficient resources to choose not to take part in the family as financial dependents

To support people to make important decisions about whether and how to perform their role in the family as an informal care provider so that their potential to value their caring lives can receive recognition and respect

Social exclusion To support people to work To financially support people to play the approach so that they are not socially role of informal care providers in the family excluded from the job market so that they have sufficient resources to have a customary way of life Social quality

To provide the opportunities To financially support people to perform for people to gain a job which the role of informal care providers so that is decently paid they can be guaranteed socio-​economic security (continued)

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Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 9.8: Examples of pro-​working life and pro-​caring life actions (continued) Welfare ideas

Examples of pro-​working life Examples of pro-​caring life actions actions

Active ageing

To support older people to continue to work

To give older people generous pensions so that they can play the role of informal care provider and at the same time maintain a reasonable standard of living

Degenderisation To ensure that both men and women have sufficient opportunities to choose to take part in the work economy

To ensure that both men and women have sufficient opportunities and support to choose to be an informal care provider in the family

attempts would enhance public awareness of the importance for governments in upholding the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. As previously discussed, we regard building an inclusively productive society as the long-​term goal. To meet this goal, it is important to make sure that the influence of protected autonomy in life-​mix in society keeps on growing. So, our second suggestion concerns uniting pro-​work and pro-​care welfare ideas to strengthen the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. The discussion of the nine welfare ideas in this chapter serves to enhance our understanding of their external homogeneity and internal heterogeneity. External homogeneity refers to the commonalities in the interpretations of productivism shared by different welfare ideas. Welfare ideas sharing such commonalities can be used to support governments’ policies based on the respective interpretations of productivism. Table 9.9 provides some examples of welfare ideas that support governments’ policies on encouraging both men and women to take part in the work economy. Internal heterogeneity of welfare ideas refers to different understandings of the same welfare idea. Different understandings of the same welfare idea can give support to government policy strategies developed on the basis of different interpretations of productivism. To illustrate this point, we provide examples of different policy strategies on productivism associated with different understandings of inclusive growth in Table 9.10. The discussion of the external homogeneity of welfare ideas provides the foundation for developing the coalition formed by different welfare ideas based on pro-​care and/​or pro-​work productivism. To justify their policy strategies on productivism, it is more effective for governments to stress the link of these strategies to a coalition of welfare ideas instead of a single welfare idea. As shown in the introduction and Table 9.1, different welfare ideas can inform the development of different social goals that the society may value. Government policy strategies that are associated with a coalition of welfare ideas are likely to receive support from a wider pool of people who favour some or all of the welfare goals concerned. 186

New dimensions to welfare ideas Table 9.9: Pro-​work interpretations of welfare ideas and government policy strategy Examples of the pro-​work interpretations of welfare ideas

Government policy strategy

Pro-​work social investment

To support both older males and females to take part in the work economy

Pro-​work defamilisation Productivist approach to active ageing SID approach to social exclusion Pro-​work inclusive growth (input) Provision of security for workers as a means to promote flexicurity Promoting degenderisation based on the supported adult worker model Pro-​work social quality Pro-​work capability approach

Table 9.10: Different understandings of inclusive growth and government policy strategies Different understandings of inclusive growth

Government policy strategies

Pro-​work interpretation of inclusive growth (input)

To provide the opportunities for people to take part in the work economy as a worker

Pro-​care interpretation of inclusive growth (input)

To provide the opportunities for people to take part in the provision of informal care in the family

The discussion of the internal heterogeneity provides a broader picture of the debate on a single welfare idea. Behind the debate on how the idea can be understood may lie the contest between different coalitions of ideas for influencing the government’s policy strategies on productivism. Following this logic, to challenge the dominance of a coalition of welfare ideas in society, we can start by challenging the dominant understandings of the welfare ideas that form the coalition. By continuously developing an alternative to the dominant understandings of one welfare idea after another, it is possible to eventually develop an alternative coalition formed by diverse welfare ideas in society. Protected autonomy in life-​mix stresses the importance of providing people with the opportunities for organising their lives based on the concepts of pro-​care or pro-​work productivism. To uphold this welfare principle, support from both pro-​work and pro-​care welfare ideas is important. The influence of protected autonomy in life-​mix in society can be dynamic. It can expand or shrink as time goes by. To make this welfare principle 187

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increasingly influential in society, it is important to continuously expand the coalition of pro-​work welfare ideas and pro-​care welfare ideas, and increase the importance of these coalitions of welfare ideas to people’s lives. To fulfil these purposes, four tasks are proposed: • to explore both the external homogeneity of more welfare ideas on the basis of pro-​care productivism and the external homogeneity of more welfare ideas on the basis of pro-​work productivism; • to continuously explore the internal heterogeneity of welfare ideas which have the potential to join the coalition of pro-​care welfare ideas or the coalition of pro-​work welfare ideas; • to persuade individual governments to take actions to put the two coalitions of welfare ideas into practice in important policy domains; • to persuade the governments to take similar and/​or joint efforts (maybe through international organisations) to put the two coalitions of welfare ideas into practice in important policy domains (such as ECEC, childcare leave, pensions and ALMPs). The stronger the pro-​care and pro-​work coalitions of welfare ideas (in terms of the number of welfare ideas that form the coalition), the greater the relevance of protected autonomy in life-​mix to the welfare goals that are valued in the society. The more government policies are used to put the two coalitions of welfare ideas into practice, the more important protected autonomy in life-​mix would be to people’s everyday lives. If there is an increasing number of governments that share the commonalities in their policies in putting the two coalitions of welfare ideas into practice, there will be a greater chance of building the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix beyond national boundaries.

Conclusion As with Chapter 8, this chapter is concerned with creating more favourable conditions for meeting people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix. We have explored the potential of nine welfare ideas in promoting protected autonomy in life-​mix, and made suggestions on how to put this potential into practice. In the last part of this chapter, it is important to highlight two points. First, in addition to the nine welfare ideas discussed in this chapter, we should review the interpretation (and reinterpretation) of more and more welfare ideas with reference to the two types of productivism. The necessity to conduct a continuous review implies that searching for welfare ideas that can provide support to the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​ mix should be seen as an ongoing and long-​term welfare research agenda.

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New dimensions to welfare ideas Table 9.11: Alternative coalition (actions for promoting the interests of informal care receivers) Welfare ideas

Receivers of informal care

Social investment (buffer, flow and stock)

To prepare the receivers of informal care (such as children) to take part in the work economy in the future through the provision of education and family subsidies

Inclusive growth (input)

To give people the opportunities to use formal care services

Inclusive growth (output)

To ensure that people have sufficient resources to purchase quality private care services and maintain a reasonable standard of living

Defamilisation

To support people to choose not to rely on informal care provided in the family through the provision of formal care services

Familisation

To give people the right to use the informal services in the family through the enactment of family laws

Capability enhancing

To support people to make important decisions about relying on the informal care in the family or the formal care from the public sector so that people can have the life-​mix pattern that they value

Approach to social exclusion To financially support people to purchase care from the private sector so that people will not be excluded from the caring services due to a lack of sufficient financial resources Social quality

To financially support people to choose to rely on the provision of informal care or provision of formal care so that people’s socio-​economic status can be promoted

Active ageing

To financially support older people to choose to rely on informal care or formal care as active decision makers

Degenderisation

To ensure that both men and women have sufficient opportunities to choose to use or not to use formal care services

Second, not all the discussions of welfare ideas are concerned with protected autonomy in life-​mix. Some of these discussions have alternative foci. As mentioned earlier, one of these alternative foci is the life-​mix preferences of informal care receivers. Exploring this research area provides the basis for developing an alternative coalition of welfare ideas, providing support for other welfare principles. The examples of the components of an alternative coalition are shown in Table 9.11.

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Conclusion Introduction In this last chapter, we aim to discuss the contributions of the book and suggest further research. We start by revisiting the aims of this book and reflecting on its contributions to the current welfare literature. Then we highlight the academic issues that remain unsolved and require further investigation. This discussion makes reference to the impact of the COVID-​19 pandemic on people’s working and caring lives (also see Chapter 8) and examines how responses to life-​mix issues can inform the handling of the challenges of the COVID-​19 pandemic in meeting people’s diverse life-​mix preferences.

Aims of the book As shown in Chapter 1, this book intended to use the life-​mix framework to investigate four major issues concerning the approaches to productivism adopted by East Asian and non-​East Asian governments: • the ways governments use welfare measures to promote productivism; • whether these measures align with women’s preferences on how to organise their caring life and working life; • the impact on women’s welfare if these measures do not complement women’s preferences; • how to reduce the potentially negative effects of such measures on women’s welfare. In relation to these four issues, seven analytical tasks have been carried out (please refer to Chapter 2): • to study people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix; • to study the importance of the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model in guiding the government’s and individuals’ organised actions; • to explore whether the East Asian countries and territories have their unique ways of upholding the supported adult worker model and the supported adult carer model; • to study the policies on productivism implemented by the governments in important policy domains; 190

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• to examine whether government policies bring positive outcomes such as upholding the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix and creating favourable conditions for building an inclusively productive society; • to make suggestions concerning how to use national and international policies to enhance protected autonomy in life-​mix and build an inclusively productive society; • to demonstrate how the discussions of important welfare ideas can be used to support protected autonomy in life-​mix.

Contributions By carrying out the previous analytical tasks, this book makes four contributions to welfare literature: showing how the two supported adult models can serve as a better alternative to the male-​breadwinner model in guiding the government to formulate policies on regulating people’s working and caring lives, demonstrating the empirical significance of the life-​mix framework, showing how welfare ideas can contribute to creating favourable conditions for upholding the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix and exploring ways to improve women’s welfare. The two supported adult models In the previous chapters, we have demonstrated several advantages of the two supported adult models as a guide for studying and formulating government policies on work and care. First, if the government develops policy measures based on both of these two models, it will create favourable conditions for people to choose to take part in a caring life or a working life, and at the same time secure sufficient resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living. This also means that people’s vulnerability to three life-​mix challenges (life-​mix relational constraints, life-​mix material gaps and user deficits) can be reduced. As discussed in Chapter 2, there are other models that can also serve as alternatives to the male-​breadwinner model, such as the caregiver parity model, the universal breadwinner model and the universal caregiver model. These models can be used to support the government to bring other welfare outcomes. For example, the contribution of the universal caregiver model in enhancing gender equity is widely recognised (Fraser, 1994; Ciccia and Bleijenbergh, 2014). Compared with these models, the two supported adult models have greater strengths in backing the government to uphold the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. Putting this welfare principle into practice is one of the main concerns of this book. Second, the two supported adult models provide the basis for assessing policy measures from different perspectives and drawing attention to different 191

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functions of these measures. For instance, Dearing’s (2016) suggestion of 14 months of well-​paid childcare leave (half of it being reserved for men) (see Chapter 4) can be seen as highly desirable if it is assessed based on the supported adult worker model, because it gives women the time to meet the caring needs of their family members and minimises the negative effect on women’s participation in the labour force. However, Dearing’s suggestion may not be seen as aligning with the supported adult carer model. Offering women and men each seven months of well-​paid leave cannot guarantee those who want to be long-​term informal care providers the opportunity to do so. To uphold the supported adult carer model, other measures that stress a longer duration of the well-​paid leave for both men and women instead of Dearing’s suggestion would have to be explored. The two supported adult models provide different views on the desirability of ECEC. The supported adult worker model is likely to favour ECEC, as people using ECEC can have more free time to develop their career. However, over-​emphasising the importance of ECEC may undermine people’s opportunity to act as informal carers for their children even if they want to. This is not in line with the supported adult carer model (see Chapter 4). The combination of some ALMP measures and late retirement measures can support people to extend their working lives. So this combination is likely to be assessed positively on the basis of the supported adult worker model. However, it is not likely to be favoured under the supported adult carer model. The supporters of the latter would favour other pension measures such as carers’ credit pension schemes and the generously paid early retirement schemes. These schemes give direct support to people who prefer a caring life (see Chapters 5 and 6). The two supported models enable the assessment of the measures for promoting flexicurity from different angles too. The supported adult carer model would favour measures that assist workers to organise their lives with the emphasis on flexible employment with supportive social security measures, whereas the supported adult worker model would put more stress on assisting informal care providers to organise their caring responsibilities with more flexibility and security of a reasonable living standard (see Chapter 6). Third, the two supported adult models, together with the male-​ breadwinner model, contribute to welfare regime research. As shown in Chapter 3, the evidence collected and analysed on the basis of these three models challenges the view that East Asian welfare systems such as those in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan can form a unique welfare regime. This casts a question on the validity of the cultural perspective and the productivist perspective on the studies of the East Asian welfare model. In Chapter 3, we have suggested that the two supported 192

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adult models can provide the basis for identifying a trans-​continental welfare group in important policy domains. In relation to this point, it is important to highlight that Germany, South Korea and Sweden have important similarities concerning their ways of providing ECEC and childcare leave benefits. As discussed in Chapter 4, these three countries are marked by a combination of highly committed ECEC policies and highly committed childcare leave policies. This suggests that they have the potential of forming a trans-​continental welfare group in the domain of childcare instead of being grouped according to their geographical positions. Finally, the two supported adult models provide a framework for examining people’s expectations of governments. As shown in Chapter 7, the two studies in Hong Kong show that different respondents had different life-​ mix preferences –​some favoured a working life, some preferred to take part in informal caring and some chose to change their attachment to a working life/​caring life from time to time. As a result, their expectations of the government were not the same. Their different expectations of the government were reflected in the policy suggestions they made (such as giving respondents carers’ allowances, encouraging male family members to take up more caring responsibilities and supporting them to provide transnational care). If our studies had not been developed on the basis of both of the two supported adult models, their sensitivity to people’s diverse expectations of the government would have been much lower. Empirical significance of the life-​mix framework The implementation of the analytical tasks shows that the life-​mix framework has empirical value. Based on this framework, we have investigated the inadequacies of seven governments’ policy measures in meeting people’s life-​mix preferences. Half of the seven governments do not have a high commitment to the provision of either ECEC or childcare leave policies, or both (see Chapter 4). The early retirement measures in most of the seven countries and territories are insufficiently developed. Some countries such as France and Germany require people to work and make contributions to the pension schemes for a long period before they become eligible to join the early retirement scheme. Applicants of early retirement pension schemes in these two countries have to accept a reduced pension income. The Hong Kong SAR and the UK governments do not provide any early retirement pension scheme (see Chapter 5). Despite evidence showing that middle-​ aged people have more difficulties in looking for a new job or keeping their existing jobs than younger age groups, most of the seven governments continue to raise the pension age. The measures for supporting workers to organise their lives based on the concept of flexicurity are far from sufficient. For example, most of the governments provide inadequate unemployment 193

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benefits. As a result, people do not have sufficient time to look for a job they value and at the same time maintain a reasonable standard of living during the periods of their unemployment. There is a lack of sufficient measures supporting informal care providers to organise their lives based on flexicurity in the seven countries and territories (see Chapter 6). The life-​mix framework also helps identify the achievements made by the seven governments’ policy measures. These achievements provide the groundwork for building an inclusively productive society. Almost all of the seven governments provide both subsidised ECEC and subsidised childcare leave. As mentioned, Germany, South Korea and Sweden are highly committed to the provision of ECEC and subsidised childcare leave. As a result, most parents in these three countries are likely to enjoy a childcare overlapping period. As discussed in Chapter 4, the parents in this period can choose to rely on paid childcare benefits or use ECEC (see Chapter 4). All the seven governments guarantee that people at the retirement age receive some financial support from the pension schemes or other social security measures (see Chapter 5). Moreover, all the seven governments offer jobseekers financial support (see Chapter 7). In addition to the national governments, international organisations also attempt to improve the effectiveness of the policy measures in helping people take part in paid work or informal care. As discussed in Chapter 4, the EC has been reviewing the appropriate length of the paid childcare leave and alternatives. In Chapter 6, we discuss the index on quality of ALMPs developed by the European Network of Public Employment Services. This index provides important suggestions for improving the ALMPs. In view of what these countries and international organisations have achieved, we can say that building this ideal of an inclusively productive society does not start from zero; some groundwork has been laid down. Welfare ideas The implementation of the analytical tasks in the previous chapters shows the importance of some welfare ideas in supporting pro-​care and pro-​work productivism (see Chapters 2 and 8). The studies of inclusive growth cover a wide range of issues, including the input side of inclusive growth, the output side of inclusive growth, the welfare of workers and the welfare of informal care providers (Ali, 2007; WB, 2016; Oxfam, 2017; Cook, 2018). The studies of defamilisation and familisation responses show the importance of assisting people to choose to perform or not to perform different roles in the family (for example, the provider of financial support, the provider of informal care, the receiver of informal care and the receiver of financial support) (Lister, 1994; Kroger, 2011; Chau, Foster and Yu, 2016; Lohmann and Zagel, 2016). This means that these studies support the government 194

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to take actions to assist people to choose or not to choose to take part in informal care or paid work. The comprehensive approach to active ageing draws attention to the potential of older people in leading a caring and/​ or a working life (Walker, 2002). The discussion of the RED approach to social exclusion makes us more aware of the right to work and the right to provide care (Levitas, 1996). The examination of all these four concepts enhances our understanding of studying other concepts from the angles of both pro-​work productivism and pro-​care productivism. In response to what has been discussed about these four concepts, we present both the pro-​work and pro-​care dimensions of social quality, social investment, the capability approach and degenderisation in the previous chapters. Women’s welfare Studies have shown that women are vulnerable to different kinds of difficulties in taking part in a caring life and a working life (Katz and Norton, 2017; ILO, 2018; Toupin, 2018; UN Women, 2018). Many women lack the opportunity in taking part in formal employment because of excessive family care responsibilities (ILO, 2018; UN Women, 2018). Women who engage in a caring life are not given sufficient recognition either in the family or in society (Katz and Norton, 2017; Toupin, 2018). It is not unusual for women to bear the dual responsibilities of taking part in formal employment and providing care in the family (Chau, Foster and Yu, 2016). To assist women to tackle these difficulties, we stress the importance of providing them with the opportunity to choose their life-​mix pattern according to their preferences. To fulfil this purpose, we explore different combinations of the following measures in the previous chapters: • enabling women to choose to rely on ECEC or subsidised childcare leave; • providing security measures for both workers and informal care providers to allow women to decide whether and how to organise their lives based on the ideas of flexicurity; • providing women with both early and late retirement schemes; • facilitating women to choose different forms of home–​work integration; • promoting both work–​life balance and care–​life balance. These measures may not necessarily be effective in meeting all women’s preferences or supporting important welfare principles such as gender equity. This is because they do not directly encourage or force men to share the care responsibilities in the family. Thus, there is no guarantee that they have an important impact on the achievement of an equal division of care between men and women in the family. The main advantage of these measures is that they facilitate women to choose to organise their lives based on the welfare 195

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principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix. As mentioned, upholding this welfare principle is a main concern of this book.

Areas for further exploration There are reasons for exploring ways for meeting people’s diverse preferences on life-​mix. These include reducing people’s vulnerability to life-​mix challenges, upholding the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix and paving the way to building an inclusively productive society. However, searching for ways of satisfying people’s diverse preferences on life-​ mix is not an easy task. There are issues remaining unsolved and requiring further research. These issues include but are not limited to how to meet men’s life-​mix preferences, how to protect the interests or recognise the preferences of care receivers, how to build a social consensus on the ways and the extent to which governments intervene in family life and ways to improve the coordination between the family setting and the work setting in meeting people’s life-​mix preferences. Men’s life-​mix preferences Given that different people have different life-​mix patterns, it is important not to rule out the possibility that some men prefer to take a bigger part in caring for the family than working in the labour market. However, their preferences may not receive sufficient attention. As shown in Chapter 4, men are given fewer childcare leave benefits than women in most of the countries and territories studied in this book. Moreover, there are both economic and cultural factors that make it difficult for men to take childcare leave benefits. The economic factor is that men are more likely to earn higher incomes than women. If the family decides to arrange its male members rather than female members to take childcare leave, it may suffer from a fall in the total family income. The cultural factor refers to the social expectation that men should spend more time earning money than providing informal care in the family. The examples of South Korea and Japan discussed in Chapter 4 show that men can be under pressure to choose not to take childcare leave to look after their children although they have the entitlements. In response to these economic and cultural factors, it is worth considering two policy suggestions. The first suggestion is to provide generously subsidised childcare leave benefits for men (and for women). The second suggestion is to legally oblige men to apply for childcare leave. The first suggestion has the potential to compensate for the loss of family income caused by men’s decisions to take childcare leave. However, this suggestion may lead a significant redistribution of resources from the families without children to the families with children, 196

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if the redistribution is done through taxation or public expenditures. The feasibility of this suggestion can be undermined by opposition from those families without children. It is also important to note that the economic factor can mean more than income. Men may have concerns about whether they will risk losing their job directly or indirectly if they take childcare leave for a long period of time. The second suggestion enables men to apply for childcare leave without facing cultural pressure. However, it may undermine men’s freedom to choose how to organise their lives. Those men who do not prefer to provide informal care in the family may face the life-​mix relational constraint and user deficit. If this happens, the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix can be challenged. Life-​mix of care receivers The preferences of care receivers about how to organise their lives are beyond the scope of this book. Despite that, it is worth raising concerns about how to prevent care receivers from being forced to have an unwanted way of life. As discussed in Chapter 4, the provision of ECEC can be under heavy influence from the ideas of pro-​work social investment. As a result, in coordinating the provision of ECEC and the provision of childcare leave, governments may attach importance to developing the potential of children to compete in the labour market in the future. This consideration gives justifications for governments’ attempts to arrange children to receive more and more formal care and their childhood as a result becoming increasingly formalised. There is no guarantee that all children favour this care arrangement and a formalised childhood. It is possible that some children prefer to receive more informal care. However, there is a lack of consensus on how to provide children with the appropriate channels to share their views on the relative desirability of informal care and formal care in the family decision-​making process and the policy-​making process. Another issue concerning the interests of care receivers is whether and how the society provides support to the development of self-​care. As discussed in Chapter 6, self-​care gives people with special care needs more choices about how to organise their adult lives. In addition to relying on formal and informal care providers, people may be able to rely partly on themselves. Playing both the roles of care providers and care receivers may give people more control over their lives. It is thus worth studying whether and how society is prepared to accept that self-​care is not only a kind of caring support to people in need but also a kind of self-​employment. This kind of study involves discussions of whether and how society is willing and able to give financial and other support (such as technological and social) and recognition to those who prefer to organise self-​care as both a care provider and a care receiver. 197

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Government intervention in families The studies of defamilisation and familisation show that government intervention in the family can play an important role in supporting people to choose to perform or not to perform family roles (such as the provider of financial support, the receiver of financial support, the provider of informal care, the coordinator of the provision of informal care and the receiver of informal care) (Lister, 1994; Bambra, 2007; Kroger, 2011; Chau, Foster and Yu, 2016). However, the impact of government intervention on the family is not always positive. At the same time as providing some family members with more resources to play the role they wish, governments may make it more difficult for other family members to choose their role in the family as they prefer. In order to search for an effective way of upholding the welfare principle of protected autonomy in life-​mix, it is necessary to build a consensus on the kinds and extents of intervention that governments should take in the family. To facilitate further research on this issue, we draw attention to four kinds of family policies –​family policies with strong intervention, family policies with weak intervention, family policies with comprehensive intervention and family policies with partial intervention. A family policy with strong intervention refers to a government policy that intends to make important decisions for families. The weak intervention family policy refers to government policy that encourages families to act in certain ways but will not make the decision on their behalf. For instance, governments favouring a family policy with strong intervention may make it a legal requirement for people to support their elderly parents and make people not conforming face legal consequences. Governments adopting a family policy with weak intervention may encourage people to do the same but limit their intervention to a minimum, such as through public education only. There is no penalty for people who do not visit their elderly parents for whatever reason. A family policy with comprehensive intervention refers to the government’s extensive commitment to ensure people will act in certain ways in their families. A family policy with partial intervention is one where governments only intervene in some aspects but not all. For instance, in order to encourage a more balanced gender division of labour in the family, some governments may provide a wide range of measures such as well-​paid paternity leave and daddy leave to support men to take up more care responsibilities, and at the same time offer women more opportunities to develop their career. Those governments which favour family policies with partial intervention may only give the family (men or women) some of the support they need and leave any unmet needs to themselves to resolve. Based on different combinations of these four kinds of family policies, we can identify four kinds of government interventions in the family: 198

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• Type one: strong intervention +​comprehensive family policy For example, a government legally requires mothers to stop working for one year to look after a newborn baby, and at the same time gives the family (both the father and the mother) a range of support (such as well-​ paid leave and ECEC) for them to look after the child at home or shift some of the responsibilities to ECEC. • Type two: strong intervention +​partial family policy For example, a government legally requires mothers to stop working for one year to look after a newborn baby, but only provides paid leave for part of this leave period to either the father or the mother and very few other support measures. • Type three: weak intervention +​comprehensive family policy For example, a government encourages both mothers and fathers to spend more time looking after a newborn baby in the first year by giving a range of support, such as well-​paid leave, for them to look after the child, and at the same time providing ECEC for the family to decide if they want to share the responsibilities with ECEC providers. • Type four: weak intervention +​partial family policy For example, a government wants to encourage mothers and fathers to spend more time to look after a newborn baby in the first year but only provides paid leave for part of this leave period to either the father or the mother and very few other support measures. The relative desirability of these four combinations of family policies is affected by a number of factors such as the life-​mix preferences of the people affected by these family policies, the cost and benefits of these combinations to different people, how paid work and informal care are valued in a society and governments’ commitments. It is not difficult to understand that different people or governments may have different views on these combinations and thus building a consensus on their desirability is not an easy task. Coordination between home setting and work setting As more and more people (men and women) find it necessary to take part not only in paid work and but also in informal care, they may need to organise their working and caring activities both at home and in the workplace. How to secure a better coordination between the home setting and the work setting to meet people’s life-​mix preferences and reduce people’s vulnerability to life-​mix challenges is an important research area. We are unable to sufficiently cover this area in this book, but would like to see more investigations of the related issues in the near future. To provide the groundwork for further research, we present three combinations of the 199

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home setting and work setting: the ‘segregated arrangement’, the ‘home–​ work integration arrangement’ and the ‘work–​care integration arrangement’. The segregated arrangement has the following features: • The work setting is expected to facilitate people to carry out the duties related to their formal employment, whereas the home setting is expected to facilitate people to carry out the duties related to the provision of informal care. • The costs of the facilities provided in the work setting are directly paid by employers, whereas the costs of the facilities provided in the home setting are shared by the members of the family. • The time schedule for employees in the work setting is the result of (equal or unequal) negotiations between employees, employers and others (such as the government and customers), whereas the time schedule for people in the home setting is the result of negotiations between members of the family. • The amount of time spent on carrying out the employees’ duties related to formal employment in the work setting is set in the contract formed between the employers and employees, whereas the amount of time spent on fulfilling the caring responsibilities in the home setting is determined informally between family members. It is generally understood that home–​work integration allows people to carry out their duties related to formal employment in the home setting. This arrangement implies that the home setting is partly used to support people to carry out their job duties. This arrangement may bring advantages to employees: employees may be able to save the time of commuting between home and work and have more time to see their family members. However, a lack of consensus on how to coordinate the home setting and work setting can lead to tensions in the family and the workplace. The employers may refuse to pay for the facilities (such as the computers and printers) used by employees to carry out the job duty in their home setting. As a result, the employees bear more cost of fulfilling their job duties than before. The employers and the family members of the employees may compete for the time-​schedule sets for the employees. For example, both parties request the employees to meet their needs in the same time slot (for example, work meetings clash with the school run). This makes it difficult for the employees to fulfil their role as a worker and as an informal care provider in the family at the same time. The employees may need to spend more time on providing informal care in the family because they have more time to contact their family members in the home setting, but the amount of time they are required to fulfil the requirements of the formal employment remains unchanged. 200

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As a result, the employees have less discretionary time to use than before (please refer to Chapter 8 for the concept of discretionary time). As discussed in Chapter 8, the work–​care integration allows employees’ family members (such as their children) to receive care at the workplace. To reduce tensions between all parties involved (the employers, employees and care receivers) in this arrangement, it is important to explore the following issues: • Who pays for the facilities for looking after the employees’ family members in the work setting? • How is the employees’ time schedule determined? • How are we to ensure that the employees will not be overloaded by the expectations on them as employees and informal care providers in the work setting? So far, we have highlighted several research issues for further exploration. If there is an in-​depth discussion of these issues, we will be more prepared to respond to global challenges such as those brought by the COVID-​ 19 pandemic. COVID-​19 pandemic The COVID-​19 pandemic has both direct and indirect effects on how people organise their working and caring lives. The direct effect is concerned with how the pandemic makes it difficult for people to lead the working and caring lives they prefer. Based on a review of reports from different sources,1 a number of difficulties are identified in Table 10.1. The indirect effect is concerned with the responses of the government and other sectors to the pandemic. These responses could lead to changes in people’s ways of organising their caring and working lives. Several important changes are identified. The first is concerned with the relationship between informal care and formal care. As shown in Table 10.1, organisations (such as nurseries and day-​care centres) responsible for the provision of formal care can no longer function effectively during the COVID-​19 pandemic. Their service users have to rely more on informal care. This change has major effects on how care is organised in society. It threatens the employment opportunity of formal care providers, unexpectedly increases the care responsibilities of informal care providers and requires care receivers to rely on different kinds of care they may not favour. To respond to these issues, it is necessary to provide the opportunities for different parties (the informal care provider, the formal care provider and the care receiver) to discuss the relative desirability of these options: 201

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Table 10.1: Impacts of the COVID-​19 pandemic on life-​mix preferences Impacts

Issues

More difficult to take part in paid work

• Higher unemployment rate • Fewer job opportunities • Health hazards caused by the COVID-​19 pandemic not covered by labour insurance • Higher risks of being infected in the travelling between home and workplace • The value of some workers (such as cleaners) is not sufficiently recognised by the government • The insufficient supply of equipment that protects workers in the workplace • Those who refuse vaccination may not be allowed to work

More difficult not to take part in paid work

• Expectations on key workers to continue to serve during the crisis • Lacking in other sources of income (for example, other family members lose their jobs and their regular income)

More difficult to provide • Social distancing policies restricting the provision of care for informal care those not living in the same household • Lacking in ICT facilities and/​or skills for care providers and receivers to communicate effectively • Insufficient information or equipment (for example, masks) to support carers to provide quality care More difficult not to take part in informal care

• Temporary closure or lack of capacity in formal care services such as ECEC and care hostels to look after their users • The work-​from-​home arrangements make involvement in informal care unavoidable • Increase in care responsibilities during lockdown periods when most family members (such as children) are at home • Increase in care responsibilities at home due to family members’ sickness, self-​isolation and emotional issues

• strengthening the capacity of the formal organisations to continue to provide formal care if the COVID-​19 pandemic persists for a long time and/​or a similar kind of crisis arises in the near future; • giving additional assistance to the family to cope with the demand for informal care; • strengthening care receivers’ (especially adult care receivers’) capacity to have self-​care. The second change is that a number of men (and women) face short-​term or long-​term unemployment caused by the COVID-​19 pandemic. If there are sufficient services to help men to organise their lives based on the supported carer model, men who prefer a caring life to a working life can take this opportunity to meet their life-​mix pattern. The third change is concerned with an increase in governments’ power to define family boundaries. As highlighted in the previous chapters, social 202

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distancing and bubble measures not only affect how family provides care to its members but also affect how the family is defined (BBC News, 2021). The regulations and rules about whom people can keep proximate contact with, and whom people should avoid, to a certain extent determine who the insiders and outsiders of the family are. As shown in various bubble policies across countries, some family members are left outside the bubble and some are kept inside (Department of Health and Social Care, 2020). These policies can be seen as examples of the government’s strong family policy. There are studies showing people’s demands for the provision of more government support for informal care providers such as giving them ICT equipment for providing distant care to their family members (Yu, Lo and Chau, 2021). This demand implies that the government should provide a more comprehensive family policy to improve people’s family lives. In view of these issues, the government may risk being criticised for both taking too much or too little intervention in the family. There would be clearer views in society concerning the acceptability of government interventions in the family during the COVID-​19 pandemic if there was a consensus on the ‘right’ combinations of the government’s comprehensive/​partial family policy and its strong/​weak family policy. Finally, the COVID-​19 pandemic crisis requires more people to increase their attachment to work at home and in unsocial hours because of the change in the home–​work integration arrangement. If there is a consensus among the parties involved on how the work setting and the home setting should be coordinated to support people’s attempt to meet their life-​mix preferences, the tensions caused by this change in the organisation of work and care can be reduced.

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Notes Preface Hong Kong was a British colony before 1997 and is now a special administrative region (SAR) of China. Macau (discussed later in the book) was a Portuguese colony before 1999 and is also a SAR of China. Taiwan’s national status has been controversial since 1949. To avoid any confusion, we refer to these places as territories instead of countries in this book. Nonetheless, these three territories are treated as distinct units in this book (as in most comparative welfare research) because their welfare systems are different and separate from the one in mainland China. 2 This project, entitled ‘Social Investment Perspective in Work-​Family Reconciliation Measures in Europe and East Asia’ (SIPEA), was conducted from 2016 to 2018. It received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-​Curie grant agreement no. 708305. 3 These grants include the Faculty Research grant and the Knowledge Transfer Partnership Seed Funds. 1

Chapter 1 These two studies were organised by the Kwai Fong Education Centre in Hong Kong and conducted by the authors. The studies followed the Centre’s internal ethics procedures. In these studies, all the ethics guidelines of the Centre were followed, including providing respondents with information about the studies and seeking their consent in advance. Principles of voluntary participation, confidentiality and anonymity were strictly followed throughout the research process. We were given access to the study findings for publication.

1

Chapter 2 The ideal societies are outlined in one of the Confucian classics –​the Book of Rites (Li Yun).

1

Chapter 3 These 24 countries/​territories are: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Most of the countries/​territories are covered by Esping-​Andersen’s study on the three worlds of welfare capitalism. The exceptions are Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea and Spain. Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are included because they are commonly included in East Asian welfare studies. Hungary is one of the seven countries/​territories studied in this book. Greece, Portugal and Spain are included partly because of the availability of comparable data and partly because they provide examples of welfare policies from Southern Europe, a region outside the three worlds of capitalism and East Asia. 2 This was reported by Reuters Staff in an article, ‘Japan targets boosting birth rate to increase growth’, published in Rebot-​Live, 12 November 2015. Available from: www.reut​ ers.com/a​ rtic​ le/​us-​japan-​econ​omy-​pop​ulat​ion-​idUKKCN ​ 0T11​ 3A20​ 1511​ 12 [Accessed 16 January 2022]. 3 The 48 countries/​territories covered by the World Values Survey (2017–​2020) include Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Myanmar, Chile, China, 1

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Notes Colombia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, the United States, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. 4 In addition to people’s decisions to take part in the work economy, the labour participation rate can be affected by other factors such as the availability of jobs in the market and the working conditions.

Chapter 4 Inter-​institutional Proclamation on the European Pillar of Social Rights (2017/​C 428/​ 09). It was signed by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on 17 November 2017 in Gothenburg, Sweden. 2 Council conclusions of 12 May 2009 on a strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) OJC 119.28.5.2009. 3 The ECECs in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England are not always the same. The entitlements ranged from 12.5 to 16 hours per week and from 38 to 52 weeks per year (EC, 2019). In discussing the ECEC in the UK, this book mainly refers to examples in England. 4 The exchange rate in 2021 is roughly HKD10 =​£1. 5 Based on the suggestions made by the EC (2019), leave is considered to be adequately compensated if parents receive at least 65 per cent of their previous earnings during the period concerned. The total length of childcare leave takes into account all the different types of leave (maternity, paternity and parental leave) and is calculated from the child’s birth until the parents return to work. 1

Chapter 5 The data were collected at five-​yearly intervals. The data cited are from Table 54E: 2019/​ 20 Household Expenditure Survey –​Average Monthly Household Expenditure by Commodity/​Service Section/​Group (Census and Statistics Department, 2021b). 2 The concept of ontological security is concerned with a person’s fundamental sense of safety in the world and includes trust of other people (Giddens, 1991). It is particularly worth highlighting the value of discussing this concept in promoting the welfare of informal care providers. Unlike the relationship between employees and employers, the relationship between an informal care provider and an informal care receiver is not usually shown and confirmed in a formal contract. To prevent such an informal relationship from generating existential anxiety, informal care providers must have reasons to trust that they share the meaning and the goals of care provision with the care receivers and other stakeholders such as other members of the family. 3 The European Network of Public Employment Services (PES) was established by the European Council and the European Parliament in 2014. Its aims include comparing PES performance through benchmarking, identifying evidence-​based good practices and fostering evidence-​based good practices and mutual learning, and promoting the modernisation and strengthening of PES service delivery. More details are available from: https:// ​ e c.eur​ o pa.eu/​ s oc​ i al/​ m ain.jsp?catId=​ 1 05&lan​ g Id=​ e n [Accessed 31 December 2021]. 4 To achieve ontological security for workers, it is important to ensure that the details of the relationship between the employees and the employers are shown explicitly in the formal contract.

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Chapter 10 Literature about the effects of the COVID-​19 pandemic: BBC News (2020a–e); Bangkok Post (2020); Daoust, J-​F. (2020); Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (2020); Hong Kong Free Press (2020a–c); Power, K. (2020); Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) (2021); South China Morning Post (SCMP) (2020a-​j); South China Morning Post (2020j); SCMP (2021); The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2020); The Guardian (2020); The Observers (2020); The Standard (2020); Tso, R. V. and Cowling, B. J. (2020); World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (2020).

1

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Index References to tables are in bold. 2030 Agenda  economic growth  163 education  162 end of poverty  160–​1 gender equality  162 ideal society  164 life improvement  160 sustainable development goals  17–​18 wellbeing  161

A Abdennadher, C.  115, 116 Abe, Shinzo  49–​50 active ageing  169, 170, 177–​8, 179, 180, 186, 187, 189 adult carer model  supported  active ageing and  178, 180 characteristics  10 childcare leave and  69, 72, 74–​6, 85–​9, 91–​2, 95 East Asia  21, 46, 61–​2, 66–​8, 190 ECEC and  69, 72, 74–​5, 85–​90, 91–​2, 95, 192 governments and  9, 18, 20, 44, 66, 67, 114, 116, 118, 122, 124, 148, 151–​3, 155, 157, 173, 174, 190 interview results on  136, 141, 147, 149 life-​mix and  109, 169, 172, 174, 175, 180–​1 new model  4, 16, 61–​2 participation in informal care  5 pensions and  96, 98–​9, 104, 106–​8, 165 social exclusion and  181–​2, 181 suggestions  14, 19, 20–​1, 42, 130, 149, 191–​3 supported adult worker model and 88–​9, 91–​2, 94, 95, 156, 160 women and  8–​9 unsupported  8–​9, 10 adult worker model  supported  active ageing and  178, 180 characteristics  10 childcare leave and  69, 72, 74–​6, 85–​9, 91–​2, 95 degenderisation and  187 East Asia  21, 46, 62, 66–​8, 190 ECEC and  69, 72, 74–​5, 85–​9, 91–​2, 95, 192 existing model  4

governments and  9, 18, 20, 28, 44, 66, 67, 114, 116, 118, 122, 124, 135, 148, 151–​3, 155, 157, 173, 174, 190 interview results on  136, 141, 147, 149 life-​mix and  109, 169, 172, 174, 175, 180–​1 male breadwinner model and  7, 8, 20, 191 neglect of carers’ needs  8 participation in formal work  5 pensions and  96, 98–​9, 104–​6, 165 productivist perspective and  16, 54 social exclusion and  181–​2, 181 suggestions  14, 19, 20–​1, 42, 130, 149, 191–​3 supported adult carer model and  88–​9, 91–​2, 94, 95, 156, 160 unsupported  7–​9, 10, 26, 181, 182 Ali, I.  39, 194 ALMPs  encouraging care provision  4, 128–​9 encouraging work participation  4, 99, 114–​16, 121, 126, 128–​9, 192 governments and  4, 15, 21, 118, 119, 120, 121, 121, 122, 123, 125 life-​mix and  42, 69, 114, 117, 156 productivism and  124 suggestions  124–​6, 130, 131, 132–​3, 132, 151, 188, 194 supported adult models and  122–​4 Amoah, P.  1, 53 Anna, B.  114, 115, 128 Annesley, C.  1, 4, 7 Asenjo, A.  114, 128 Aspalter, C.  166 Austria  childcare leave  63, 64, 65, 70 education  60 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58

B Bakker, I.  3, 24 Bambra, C.  1, 7, 15, 16, 27, 32, 33, 46, 166, 198 Barrientos, A.  32 Bergemann, A.  115, 128

233

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe ‘better-​off society’ (Confucius)  23, 40, 41 Beveridge, W.  9, 53, 166 Bleijenbergh, I. L.  5, 6, 7, 30, 191 Bonoli, G.  1, 53 Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial  47 Boxall, K.  25, 41, 116 Bracke, M. A.  3, 24 breadwinner models  male  6–​7, 8–​9, 10, 15, 16, 19, 29, 31, 40, 42, 46, 47–​8, 50, 51, 66, 191–​2 universal  29, 30, 31, 31, 42 Brenner, J.  3, 24 Burroni, L.  125, 176

C capability approach  26–​7, 32, 43, 169, 170, 175, 185, 187, 189, 195 care  allowances  5, 5, 6, 8, 28, 30, 75, 128, 139–​40, 158, 159, 173 formal  111, 131, 147, 149, 158, 159, 161–​2, 174, 189 Four Rs and  4 informal  active ageing and  180, 186 choice for adults  8, 11, 24, 25, 28, 37, 41, 42, 112, 118, 129, 152, 170–​1, 173, 174, 181, 182, 185 COVID-​19 and  161, 201–​3, 202 ECEC and  74, 89–​90, 93, 192 finances and  13, 17, 26, 37–​8, 39–​40, 62, 66, 92, 109–​10, 128, 130, 158, 183, 185, 192 Four Rs and  4, 5, 71, 73, 74, 97, 98 governments and  4, 8, 172, 187, 198 interviews  138, 140 lack of recognition  3, 8, 28, 36, 124, 159 life-​mix and  1–​2, 6, 12, 44, 71, 73, 74, 94, 98, 172–​3, 175–​6, 178, 194, 196, 199 pensions and  3, 109–​10, 152, 153–​4 receivers  111, 127, 128, 160, 189, 197 security  126–​8, 132–​3, 154, 155, 162, 165, 168, 177, 184, 185, 192, 195 suggestions  130, 131, 132, 192, 194–​5 supported adult carer model and  98–​9, 182, 192 work from home and  156–​7, 163, 199–​200 men and  4, 5, 5, 10, 28–​30, 36, 51, 62, 64, 70–​1, 73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 97, 141, 149, 195,  196–​7 paid leave  159 providers’ rights  39 transnational  143–​8, 157, 163 women and  3, 5, 6–​7, 8, 10, 12, 28–​30, 33–​4, 36, 47, 69–​70, 73, 76, 97, 195–​6

caregiver models  parity  5, 29, 30, 31, 31, 42 universal  29, 30, 31, 31, 42 Carers’ Day  5 Chan, K. W.  16, 46, 135 Chan, R. K. H.  1, 53 Chau, Ruby C. M.  on ageing  111 on childcare  7, 52, 75, 85, 160 on (de)commodification  15, 32, 165, 166, 167 on (de)familisation  134, 198 on distribution of resources  25, 26 on effects of COVID-​19  203 on family changes  49 on Hong Kong government  85, 113, 121 on inclusive growth  172 on male breadwinner model  6, 29 on pro-​market welfare reforms  18 on social quality  182 on supported adult models  4, 5, 7, 175, 181 on transnational care  157 on welfare and productivism  1, 11, 26, 28 on women and care responsibilities  3, 7, 33, 47, 75, 195 on work measures  116, 121 childcare  facilities  6, 7, 52, 79, 91, 157, 159, 164 finances and  12 leave  2030 Agenda  162 East Asia and  66–​8 Europe 2020  164 fathers and  5, 7, 28–​30, 36, 51, 62, 64, 70–​1, 73, 74, 75, 76, 79, 155, 164, 198 Four Rs and  97 governments and  4, 7–​8, 15, 21, 28, 36, 74–​6, 77, 78, 79, 79, 80, 81, 85–​ 9, 91–​5, 111, 126, 155, 193, 198–​9 life-​mix and  42, 69–​70, 71–​2, 73, 74, 76, 92–​4, 128, 151–​4, 159, 193–​7 paid  7, 8, 28, 62–​4, 63, 64, 65, 66, 70, 74–​5, 84, 139, 140, 167, 192, 194, 198, 199 suggestions  139–​40, 156, 188, 192 supported adult models and  88–​9, 98–​9, 106–​7, 135 provisions  1, 5, 52, 78, 79, 80, 81, 84, 86 see also ECEC China  40–​1, 47, 52, 61 Chung, D.  40 Ciccia, R.  5, 6, 7, 28, 30, 31, 70, 191 Clasen, J.  125, 176 commodification  7, 8, 23, 32–​4, 43

234

Index ‘commonwealth’ (Confucius)  11, 40–​1, 164 Confucian productivist group  15, 23 Confucianism  11, 23, 40, 46–​7, 48, 52 Cook, S.  1, 34, 38, 39, 194 COVID-​19  care homes  13–​14 economic crisis  110 effect on caring and working lives  18–​19, 161, 190, 201–​2 life-​mix preferences and  202 quarantine costs  13 work from home  203 Crompton, R.  5, 6, 28, 29, 30 culturalist perspective  16, 46, 47, 66

D Daly, M.  4, 7, 27 Dearing, H.  1, 75, 76, 192 decommodification  7, 8, 23, 32–​4, 43, 128, 168 Deeming, C.  34, 38, 169 defamilisation  19, 23, 32–​4, 43, 169, 170, 172–​5, 173, 185, 187, 189, 198 degenderisation,  169, 170, 180–​1, 186, 187, 189, 195 Dehnel, G.  17, 164 Denmark  childcare leave  63, 64, 65 education  60 fertility rates  51 flexicurity  125 gender wage gap  50 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 deprivation  material  11, 19, 34, 40, 43, 160–​1, 169 relational  11, 19, 34, 43, 160–​1, 169 Dwyer, P.  166, 167

E East Asia  childcare  52, 62, 64, 77 education  55–​9 fertility rates  48–​9, 50–​51, 54, 66 health care  55 hospital beds  55 infant mortality rate  55 labour participation  48 life expectancy  55 maternal mortality rate  55 productivist group  15 societal ideas  23 unique model  44, 46, 62, 66, 192 welfare regimes  1–​2, 16, 34, 47, 52–​3, 54, 61–​2, 66, 166 work attitudes  61, 67

EC  1, 17, 35, 39, 69, 70, 71, 74, 79, 82, 88, 90, 91, 114, 115, 125, 156, 164, 177–​8 ECEC  2030 Agenda  162 cost  84, 85 COVID–​19 and  202 enrolment rate  83, 84 Europe 2020  164 flexicurity and  126 governments and  21, 67–​8, 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 82, 85–​7, 99, 107, 111, 135, 193 importance to children  70, 89–​90 life-​mix and  15, 42, 69, 71–​2, 73, 74, 92–​4, 151–​3, 193–​5, 197, 199 provision  5 suggestions  94–​6, 140, 153–​4, 156, 158, 188 supported adult models and  88–​9, 91–​2, 192 education  2030 Agenda  162 compulsory  13 development  60 formal  89–​90, 159, 162 policies  55–​8, 66 programmes  35 university  52 vocational training  37, 115 women and  36 work and  24 youth and  18 see also ECEC Eikemo, T. A.  15, 16, 46, 166 Elson, D.  1, 4, 24, 26, 35, 38–​9, 169, 172 employment  see work Esping-​Anderson, G.  7, 15, 32–​3, 46, 53, 124 EU  3, 21, 35, 71, 79, 91, 156, 164, 171, 177, 182 Europe 2020  growth strategy  17, 164 life improvement  160 European Council  70, 77, 88–​9, 94 European Network of Public Employment Services  124, 129–​30, 194 European Pillar of Social Rights  70

F Fadejeva, L.  114 familisation  19, 23, 32–​4, 43, 169, 170, 172–​5, 173, 185, 189, 198 Federici, S.  3, 24, 25 fertility rates  36, 47–​50, 51, 54, 66 flexicurity  125–​6, 127, 129–​30, 131, 154, 169, 170, 175–​7, 187, 192, 194, 195 Fontana, M.  24, 26, 38–​9, 172 Foster, L.  3, 33, 85, 96, 110, 111, 157, 160, 166, 169, 177, 194, 195, 198

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Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe Four Rs  Recognise  informal carers’ status  5 paid work  4, 5, 97, 98, 117 unpaid care  4, 5, 97, 98 workers’ status  5 Redistribute  informal care responsibilities  5 paid work  4, 5, 97, 98 unpaid care  4, 5, 97 work responsibilities  5 Reduce  informal care responsibilities  5 paid work  4, 5, 97, 98, 117 unpaid care  4, 5, 97, 98 work responsibilities  5 Reward  informal carers  5, 159 paid work  98, 117 unpaid care  4, 5, 97, 98 workers  5 Four Virtues  47, 48, 66 France  ALMPs  118, 119, 120, 120, 121 childcare leave  63, 64, 65, 77, 78, 79, 80, 87–​8 ECEC  60, 77, 79, 82, 82, 83, 84, 87–​8 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 health  111 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49, 107 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 minimum wages  122 pensions  99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107–​8, 112 unemployment  118, 121, 123 welfare reforms  15 Frank, R. H.  23 Fraser, N.  3, 29, 30, 31, 191 Frericks, P.  96, 111

G Garritzmann, J. L.  36 gender division  care  3, 7, 10, 32 labour,  10, 23, 27–​9, 33, 47 gender equality  17–​18, 27, 162, 164 gender wage gap  47–​8, 50 Germany  ALMPs  118, 119, 120, 121 childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 65, 67–​8, 70, 77, 78, 79, 80, 86–​8, 92–​3, 107, 193–​4 ECEC  60, 77, 82, 82, 83, 86–​8, 91, 92–​3, 107–​8, 193–​4 fertility rates  51

gender wage gap  50 health  111 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49, 107 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 minimum wages  122 pensions  100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 112 unemployment  121, 123 welfare reforms  15 Goodin, R. E.  9, 158 Gornick, J.  28, 29, 30 Gough, I.  1, 16, 18, 34, 53 Groot, L.  1, 23 Giullari, S.  4, 6, 7, 29, 175

H Haas, L.  7, 29, 71, 75 health care  53, 54–​5, 66, 139, 147, 149, 161 Hemerijck, A.  1, 28, 35, 167, 169, 171 Heron, E.  166, 167 Ho, K. Y.  158 Holliday, I.  1, 34, 53 Hong Kong  ALMPs  119, 120–​1, 120, 121 childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 64, 65, 67, 77, 78, 79, 80, 87, 91, 92, 94, 135, 139 Confucianism  52 ECEC  60, 82, 82, 83, 84–​5, 87, 94, 135, 140 education  56–​8 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  48, 50 government statistics  54, 96 health  111 health care  55, 149 hospital beds  55, 59 infant mortality rate  55, 57 labour participation  48, 49, 67, 107, 135 life expectancy  55, 56 life-​mix  134, 142–​3, 147–​50, 193 maternal mortality rate  55, 58 minimum wages  122 MPF  102, 105, 112, 113, 134–​41 pensions  100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 112–​13, 134–​42, 149, 193 transnational care  143–​8 unemployment  120–​1, 123 welfare capitalism  53 welfare reforms  1, 15, 94–​5, 166, 192 welfare-​to-​work  53, 167 work attitudes  61, 67 Hudson, J.  1, 16, 34, 53 Hungary  ALMPs  118, 119, 120, 120, 121

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Index childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 65, 77, 78, 79, 80, 87–​8, 94–​5 ECEC  60, 77, 79, 82, 82, 83, 87–​8, 93, 94–​5 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 health  111 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour partic,ipation  49, 107 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 minimum wages  122 pensions  99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107–​8, 112 unemployment  120, 121, 123 welfare reforms  15, 94–​5 Hwang, C. P.  29, 71, 75

I Immervoll, H.  114, 115 inclusive growth  35, 38–​40, 43, 169, 170, 172, 185, 187, 189, 194 inclusively productive society  9, 41–​2, 43, 44, 44, 168, 186 infant mortality rates  54, 55, 57 ILO  1, 3, 4, 18, 21, 24, 39, 195 Israel, S.  32, 172 Italy  childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 65 ECEC  60 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58

J Japan  childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 64, 65, 67, 75 ECEC  60 education  56–​8 fertility rates  49, 51, 51 gender wage gap  48, 50 health care  55 hospital beds  55, 59 infant mortality rate  55, 57 labour participation  48, 49, 67 life expectancy  55, 56 maternal mortality rate  55, 58 welfare capitalism  53 welfare reforms  1, 192 work attitudes  61, 67 Jenson, J.  31, 36 Jones, C.  16, 46 Jung, C. L.  7, 166

K Karim, S. A.  15, 16, 46, 166 Kasprzyk, B.  17, 164 Katz, C.  3, 24, 195 Keune, M.  125, 176 Keynesianism  166, 167 Kilkey, M.  32, 157, 160 Kim, H.  76, 79 Kim, Y. M.  1, 53 Koslowski, A.  1, 63, 70, 91 Kroger, T.  1, 3, 7, 15, 32, 33, 172, 194, 198 Kühner, S.  4, 5, 11, 26, 34, 53, 85, 113, 175 Kurowska, A.  27, 169, 175 Kvist, J.  1, 35, 171

L labour  see work Lapuerta, I.  28, 75 Laslett, B.  3, 24 Lee, Y–​J.  34, 47 Lee, K. M.  15, 47 Leibfried, S.  16, 46 Leung, L. C.  16, 46 Levitas, R.  25, 169, 181, 195 Lewis, J.  1, 4, 6, 7, 15, 27, 29, 125, 169, 175 Li Yun (Book of Rites, Confucius)  40 life expectancy  54–​5, 56 life-​mix  challenges  11–​12, 20, 27, 43, 66, 70, 92–​4, 108–​12, 122–​4, 128, 138, 143, 147–​8, 150, 151–​3, 160–​1, 165, 184, 199 framework  2, 2, 4, 14–​16, 20, 23, 27, 28, 34, 38, 42, 45, 69, 96, 147–​9, 190, 193–​4 material gaps  11–​12, 43, 92–​3, 108–​10, 111, 124, 138, 147–​8, 151–​3, 165, 184 preferences  ageing and  111 caring life  3, 8, 31, 132, 193, 196 COVID–​19 and  18–​19, 190, 201, 203 challenges and  12, 16, 34, 86, 149 creating favourable conditions  151–​7, 168 ECEC and  86, 89, 93–​4 governments and  11, 43, 44, 67, 148, 173–​5, 193 ‘not-​yet’ approach  41–​2 part of framework  2, 2, 148 productivism and  9, 17, 23, 143, 167 suggestions  18, 19–​20, 189, 199 supported adult models and  6, 18 women and  3, 17, 20, 21, 28, 29, 30, 31, 42, 134 working life  3, 31, 132, 193, 196

237

Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe protected autonomy  9, 32, 40, 43, 44, 169–​72, 173–​4, 175, 177, 181, 182, 184, 186–​9, 191, 197–​8 relational constraints  11, 12, 43, 92, 93, 94, 108, 128, 138, 147–​8, 151–​3, 155, 165, 184 tactics  5, 42, 71, 73, 74, 96–​7, 98, 116, 117, 159 user deficits  11, 12–​14, 43, 92, 93–​4, 108, 112, 128, 138, 151–​3, 161, 165, 184 Lin, K.  1, 53 Lipsey, R. G.  23, 24 Lister, R.  32, 33, 169, 172, 194, 198 Lo, P. Y. I.  1, 4, 6, 7, 29, 121, 203 Lohmann, H.  32, 33, 169, 194

M Macau  52, 61 Maier, R.  96, 111 Maltby, T.  111, 178 maternal mortality rate  54–​5, 58 Mckeen, W.  3, 24, 25, 37 Merla, L.  32, 157, 160 Meyers, M.  28, 29, 30 Mishra, R.  18, 165, 166 Mok, K. H.  1, 53, 134 Morel, N.  35, 169

N Netherlands  childcare leave  63, 64, 65 ECEC  60, 90 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 Norton, J.  3, 24, 195 Norway  childcare leave  63, 64, 65, 70 ECEC  60 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 ‘not-​yet’ approach  41, 112, 168

O Obrebalski, M.  17, 164 OECD  1, 3, 32, 48, 70, 77, 90, 91, 96, 106, 111, 156 Orloff, A. S.  27 Oxfam  1, 38, 39, 194

P Palier, B.  35, 169 Palme, J.  35, 169 Pascall, G.  16, 47 pensions  carers  5, 8, 153–​4 early retirement  5, 97, 98, 102, 104, 107, 112, 116, 117, 154, 165, 192, 193, 195 informal care and  97, 98, 102 late retirement  102, 105, 112, 154, 165, 192, 195 material gaps  109–​10, 111 policy measures  42, 69, 96, 98, 164, 165, 188 public  99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 156 supported adult models and  98–​9, 104, 105–​7 women and  3, 12, 28, 97, 106, 110, 112, 134–​41, 149 work and  24, 97, 98 Petre, G.  125, 176 Phillipson, C.  110 Pignatti, C.  114, 128 Plomien, A.  125, 169 Pollmann-​Schult, M.  6, 29 Powell, M.  32 productivism  adult life and  23–​4 ageing and  177–​8 debate  23 East Asia  53 policy strategies  Four Rs and  4 governments and  4, 11, 15, 43, 44, 67, 124–​5, 169, 172–​3, 175–​7, 178, 184, 186–​7, 187, 198–​9 life-​mix tactics and  6, 42, 72, 73, 74, 97, 98, 117 pro-​care  5, 6, 10, 25, 39, 42, 43, 127, 143, 156, 167, 169, 172, 175, 181, 182–​4, 184, 185, 186–​8, 186, 187, 194 pro-​work  5, 6, 10, 25, 39, 42, 43, 127, 143, 156, 167, 169, 171–​2, 181, 182–​3, 183, 184, 185, 186–​8, 186, 187, 194 social investment and  37 welfare reforms and  1–​2, 9, 53, 54, 66, 124–​5 productivist perspective  16, 46, 52–​3, 54, 66, 192

R Raub, A.  71, 75, 76 Rieger, E.  16, 46

S Sahnoun, M.  115, 116 Saraceno, C.  1, 25, 33, 36 238

Index Saxonberg, S.  31, 169, 180 Scarpetta, S.  114, 115 Schmitt, C.  6, 29 self-​care  129, 131, 132, 163, 174, 176, 197, 202 Sen, A.  26, 169 Seth, A.  35, 38, 39, 169 Shinkawa, T.  1, 53 Singapore  childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 64, 65 Department of Statistics  54 education  56–​7, 58 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  48, 50 health care  55 hospital beds  55, 59 infant mortality rate  55, 57 labour participation  48, 49, 67 life expectancy  55, 56 maternal mortality rate  55, 58 welfare capitalism  53 welfare reforms  1, 192 Slavomíra, M.  114, 115, 128 Smyth, P.  34, 38, 169 social exclusion  25–​6, 27, 169, 170, 181–​2, 181, 185, 187, 189 social investment  35–​8, 43, 169, 170, 171, 185, 187, 189, 195 social quality  169, 170, 182–​4, 183, 184, 185, 187, 189, 195 South Korea  ALMPs  119, 120, 120, 121 childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 64, 65, 67–​8, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 86–​7, 107, 193–​4 Confucianism  52 democratisation  47 ECEC  60, 77, 79, 82, 83, 84, 86–​7, 107, 193–​4 education  56–​7, 59 fertility rates  50, 51, 51 gender wage gap  48, 50 health  111 health care  55 hospital beds  55, 59 infant mortality rate  55, 57 labour participation  48, 49, 67, 107 life expectancy  55, 56 maternal mortality rate  55, 58 minimum wages  122 pensions  99, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107–​8 social security measures  166 unemployment  120, 123 welfare capitalism  53 welfare reforms  1, 15, 53, 192 work attitudes  61 Spannagel, D.  32, 172 Sweden 

ALMPs  118, 119, 120, 120, 121 childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 65, 67–​8, 70, 77, 78, 79, 81, 86–​7, 107, 193–​4 ECEC  60, 77, 79, 82, 83, 86–​7, 107, 193–​4 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 health  111 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49, 107 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 minimum wages  122 pensions  101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 107–​8 unemployment  118, 123 welfare reforms  15 Switzerland  childcare leave  62, 63, 64, 65 ECEC  60 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 labour participation  49 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 Szelewa, D.  31, 180

T Taiwan  Confucianism  52 democratisation  47 social security measures  166 welfare capitalism  53 welfare reforms  1, 192 work attitudes  61, 67 Three Types of Obedience  47, 48, 66 Toupin, L.  3, 24, 25, 195 Tros, F.  125, 168

U United Kingdom (UK)  ALMPs  118, 119, 120, 121 childcare leave  63, 64, 65, 77, 78, 79, 81, 95 COVID-​19  13–​14 ECEC  60, 77, 79, 82, 82, 83, 84, 87, 95 fertility rates  51 gender wage gap  50 health  111 hospital beds  59 infant mortality rate  57 influence on Hong Kong  53 labour participation  49, 107 life expectancy  56 maternal mortality rate  58 minimum wages  122 New Labour government  167

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Women, Welfare and Productivism in East Asia and Europe pensions  99, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 193 public housing  166 Social Exclusion Unit  25 tobacco tax  13 transnational care 1438  unemployment  118, 123 Universal Credit  14 welfare reforms  15, 94–​5 United Nations (UN)  2030 Agenda  17–​18, 160–​4 database  21, 54, 55, 111 Policy Responses to Low Fertility  53–​4 Rights of the Child  90 UNDP  15, 38 Women  3, 195

V Van den Berg, G.  115, 128 Van der Maesen, L. J. G.  169, 182 Verloo, M.  5, 28, 30, 31, 70 Viebrock, E.  125, 175

W Walesiak, M.  17, 164 Walker, A.  3, 18, 25, 47, 111, 113, 124, 165, 166, 169, 177, 178, 182, 195 welfare  active  35 debate  23 ideas  19, 46, 61–​2, 66, 151, 169–​72, 170, 185, 185, 186–​9, 186, 187, 194–​5 life-​mix and  2, 2 policies  9 pro-​market reforms  16, 18, 165–​7 productivism and  1, 53 residual  26, 165–​7 reforms  1, 16, 18, 66–​8, 94–​5 six views  42–​5, 44 Wen, Z. Y.  1, 53 WHO  177–​8 Wilthagen, T.  125, 126, 168 Wojnar, J.  17, 164 Won, S. Y.  16, 47 Wong, C. K.  47, 113 work  ageing and  177–​8, 179 formal  2030 Agenda  163 active ageing and  180 ALMPs and  114–​15 attitudes towards  61, 67 COVID-​19 and  202 (de)familisation  173 Four Rs and  71–​2, 73, 74, 97, 98 from home  199–​200 governments and  39–​40, 54, 187, 199 pensions and  96, 97, 98

productivism and  4, 6, 23–​4, 35–​6, 39–​ 40, 54, 171, 183, 185, 186, 187 security  176–​7 women and  1–​2, 3, 135, 174, 195 from home  6, 156–​7, 162, 163, 199–​ 201, 203 life-​mix framework and  2, 2 maximum hours  5, 158, 164 minimum wages  5, 35, 116, 121, 122 participation rate  48, 49, 107, 135, 164 productivism and  1 protection  120 public expenditure on  119 security  126, 128, 132–​3, 176, 187 training  6, 114–​15 undesirable inclusion  26 unemployment  16–​17, 18, 26, 108, 109, 110, 114, 115, 116–​18, 120–​1, 122–​6, 123, 158, 168, 176, 193–​4, 202, 202 women and  1, 3, 8, 10, 28, 35–​6, 105–​6 see also ALMPs workers  Four Rs and  5 life improvement  39 reallocation  5 rights  39, 163 welfare  172 World Bank (WB)  21, 38, 194 World Values Survey  24, 52, 54, 61

Y Yamashita, J.  27, 28 Yu, Sam W. K.  on ageing  111 on childcare  7, 52, 75, 85, 160 on (de)commodification  15, 165, 166, 167 on (de)familisation  198 on distribution of resources  25, 26 on effects of COVID-​19  203 on family changes  49 on Hong Kong government  85, 113, 121 on inclusive growth  172 on male breadwinner model  6, 29 on social quality  182 on supported adult models  4, 5, 7, 175, 181 on transnational care  157 on welfare and productivism  1, 11, 16, 26, 28, 53 on women and care responsibilities  3, 7, 33, 47, 75, 195 on work measures  116, 121

Z Zagel, H.  32, 33, 169, 194

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Series editors: Heejung Chung, University of Kent, UK, Alexandra Kaasch, University of Bielefeld, Germany, and Stefan Kühner, Lingnan University, Hong Kong.

“This informative study provides an original reflection on gender, welfare regimes and productivism from comparative perspectives. It offers a rigorous theoretical analysis, critical evaluation of policies and a compelling empirical account of women’s experiences of life-mix challenges. Fascinating work.” Sirin Sung, Queen’s University Belfast Developing the new framework of ‘life-mix’, which considers the mixed patterns of caring and working in different periods of life, this book systematically explores the interplay of productivism, women, care and work in East Asia and Europe. The book ranges across four key aspects of welfare – childcare, parental leave, employment support and pensions – to illustrate how policies affect women in various periods of their lives. Policy case studies from France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, South Korea, Sweden and the UK show how welfare could support people’s caring and working lives. This book forms a prescient examination of how productivist thinking underpins regimes and impacts women’s welfare, care and work in both the East and West. Ruby C. M. Chau is Associate Professor in Public and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham. Sam W. K. Yu is an independent researcher.

ISBN 978-1-4473-5771-1

@policypress @policypress PolicyPress policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk

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WOMEN, WELFARE AND PRODUCTIVISM IN EAST ASIA AND EUROPE Ruby C. M. Chau and Sam W. K. Yu

In a world that is rapidly changing, increasingly connected and uncertain, there is a need to develop a shared applied policy analysis of welfare regimes. Through a unique combination of comparative and global social perspectives, books in this series will address broad questions around how nation states and transnational policy actors deal with globally shared challenges.

RUBY C.M. CHAU S A M W. K . Y U

WOMEN, WELFARE AND PRODUCTIVISM IN EAST ASIA AND EUROPE R E S E AR C H I N C O M PAR AT I V E & G L O BA L S O C I A L P O L I C Y