Understanding Social Security Development: Lessons From the Chinese Case

Abstract

Understanding the development of social security systems constitutes the ultimate goal of social security research. This review traces and compares two schools of thought regarding social security development: the convergence and divergence schools. Using a thematic approach, this article first categorizes extant studies into one of these two schools and then identifies the broadly accepted mechanism of social security development by comparing them. After reviewing the extant research and its theoretical underpinnings, this article applies Mill’s methods of agreement and difference to show how the Chinese case contributes to and challenges our understanding of social security development. By discussing the assumptions of current research on social security development in light of the Chinese case, this article illuminates how political legitimacy serves as a common mechanism of social security development regardless of political context or structure.

Development of the System of Social Protection in Ukraine in the Context of European Choice

“…Ukrainian scientists also offer their respective theories for improvement of the mechanisms and control over use of financial resources for the system of social protection (Gordienko, 2016). During the first quarter of the 21 st century, the scientists focus on cross-national variations and concentrate their efforts on creating the universal social protection development theory (Huang & Cai, 2021).…”

Political doctrine, economic growth, and the development of urban social security: Lessons from post-reform China

“…Most existing studies on Chinese social security focus on individual programs-such as pensions, health, and unemployment-and use empirical and comparative methods to evaluate the system's development or test previous research observations (Feldstein, 1999;G. Huang and Cai, 2021).…”