Social Welfare Reform under the Urban-Rural Integration in China: In Search of the East Asian Welfare Mix

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15H03133
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Area studies
• Research Institution: Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
• Principal Investigator: Sawada Yukari 東京外国語大学, 大学院総合国際学研究院, 教授 (50313268)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 包 敏 広島国際大学, 医療福祉学部, 准教授 (00352013) ; 沈 潔 日本女子大学, 人間社会学部, 教授 (20305808) ; 李 蓮花 東京経済大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (30373038) ; 朱 民 千葉商科大学, 商経学部, 准教授 (30634216) ; 于 洋 城西大学, 現代政策学部, 教授 (60386521) ; 真殿 仁美 城西大学, 現代政策学部, 准教授 (70412781)
• Research Collaborator: KATAYAMA Yuki ニッセイ基礎研究所, 保険研究部, 准主任研究員 ; ZHANG Jiyuan 華東師範大学, 経済管理学部, 講師
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 社会保障 / 中国 / 福祉ミックス / NGO / 民間委託 / 介護

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The study proved the emergence of a strong preference for private resources to enhance social welfare reform in China. The study team conducted interviews with the local officials, NGOs' staff and private enterprises engaged in providing social services to the public. We covered Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast China, supplemented by the questionnaire survey in Anhui Province where urban and rural integration rapidly taking place.
The main findings are: (1) Among the social insurances, health and elderly-care witnessed positive participation of commercial insurance companies to develop a safety-net; (2) In the social security sphere, private companies and NGOs are active to provide services to the elderly, handicapped and unemployed where the local governments subcontracted its social service projects to these private entities; (3) The private organizations face political risk by being subcontractors, but they maintain relative freedom in terms of management.

Free Research Field

地域研究