Income Transfers to the Elderly in East Asia:Testing Asian Values

This article examines the role of family and the state in relation to theliving standards of the elderly in East Asia. It tries to test whetherfamilial arrangement according to Confucian ethics, which are still takenseriously in East Asia, secures the minimum standards of living for theelderly. This article, first, examines the social policy institutions for theelderly in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. It argues that public policy inthe region assumes the family as primarily responsible for elderlypeople’s living standards. Secondly, this article analyses private andpublic income transfers to elderly households, based on micro-data setsfor South Korea and Taiwan. It argues that private transfers do makeimportant contributions to the income of the elderly households,particularly poorer households, while public transfers do not make anysignificant impact. This suggests that Confucian ethics are still working.Private transfers, however, fail to secure the minimum standards ofliving of the elderly. The elderly households are far more prone topoverty. The findings of this paper support the case for state action toprotect the living standards of the elderly in East Asia.[...]