ABSTRACT
Taiwan is most known for its economic and political miracles. However, postwar economic development and democratic transition also shaped the evolution of Taiwan's social welfare regime, its third "miracle.” Social policy development in Taiwan proceeded in three distinct phases during the postwar period. First, the developmental state, which prioritized economic growth, implemented social insurance programs which were limited in scope and coverage. Most notably, the government introduced labor insurance in the 1950s and gradually expanded it over the ensuing decades. Democratic transition, which began during the late 1980s and through the 1990s, entailed new political incentives that compelled vote-seeking politicians to pursue welfare state deepening. Voter preferences and Taiwan's distinctive political party system encouraged social welfare reform, leading to the universalization of health insurance and the introduction of labor protection and old-age income security programs. In the third and current phase, postindustrial pressures, and notably the dualization of the labor market, pose new pressures on the welfare state, including the stratification of welfare benefits to those who are formally and informally employed. Postindustrial challenges are not unique to Taiwan and are confronted by social welfare regimes in all advanced democracies.
