International Journal of Social Welfare: Social Policy and Economic Development in Late Industrializers, Volume 18, Supplement 1, April 2009

This Supplement in the International Journal of Social Welfare presents the main findings of a United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) research project on social policy in late industrializers, covering countries in East Asia, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the Nordic countries. One of the findings from the research is that social policy has been used as an integral part of economic development in successful late-industrializing countries. In the MENA region and sub-Saharan Africa, however, social policy was tried for too short a period to be properly implemented and tested. East Asian and Latin American countries started with a narrow-based social policy, but social policy in East Asia was extended to foster social solidarity, bringing people into the mainstream of social change. Such findings suggest that social policy is multifunctional, not only in terms of social protection but also economic development and democratic governance.


Table of Contents:

Introduction: Social policy and economic development in late industrializers
Huck-ju Kwon, Thandika Mkandawire, Joakim Palme

The reform of the developmental welfare state in East Asia
Huck-ju Kwon

Latin America: A new developmental welfare state model in the making?
Manuel Riesco

Social policy in sub-Saharan Africa: A glance in the rear-view mirror
Jìmí O. Adésínà

Bringing social policy back in: A look at the Middle East and North Africa
Massoud Karshenas, Valentine M. Moghadam

Making social policy work for economic development: The Nordic experience
Olli Kangas, Joakim Palme