Author Description

"This book examines the evolution of Korean social welfare policy over the last two decades through the conceptual lens of the "Social Investment State" and the special challenges posed from this perspective, particularly in a rapidly aging society. Since the 1990s many of the modern welfare states have experienced a wave of policy reforms seeking to promote labor force participation, human capital, individual responsibility and economic development, while advancing the private delivery of social protection. These reforms were introduced to check the mounting costs of social spending, which between 1960 and 2009 had climbed from an average of 13% -to-almost 30% of the GDP in the developed welfare states of the OEDC countries. The reforms were also triggered by the need to adapt to the competitive demands of markets in the global economy of the 21st century amidst growing concerns that modern welfare states were undermining the work ethic"--