ABSTRACT
This introductory chapter summarizes, in a nutshell, major developments in the construction and further development of welfare state systems in all corners of Asia. Early on, East Asian welfare state systems went on to develop welfare state institutions. Their extended coverage and increased public financial support thereof have been a response to rising social pressures and social movements, and particularly intensifying electoral and party competition in democratic elections. For India, this trend took longer to catch on, but, nevertheless, it now witnesses fast expansion of social expenditure across the board, with no interruption since 2003. Coincidentally, China too, since 2003, has been engaged in frantically extending social security coverage, in health care and pensions in particular, and fighting poverty in all parts of China, particularly in conjunction with housing policy and combined with social investment in health care and education. On the other hand, Turkey, Russia and Macao, for example, have held back on welfare state expansion.
