The Kyrgyz Republic is faced with socioeconomic issues such as overdependence on the remittance economy, increasing youth migration, a shortage of jobs for the productive population, and widespread informal work, all of which lead to insufficient social protection financing. Although the country’s social protection system is universal in coverage, it lacks support for the working-age population, and the benefit levels of the public assistance and pension systems are low. In addition, labor market policies are confronted with challenges such as inadequate employment insurance coverage due to the prevalence of informal work, a lack of job training and support programs, and a lack of social security benefits for returning migrant workers and their families. Therefore, the government of the Kyrgyz Republic needs to consider expanding social protection coverage for informal labor and returning migrant workers, allocating and securing sufficient resources, strengthening the authority of government departments, and integrating social protection and employment services.
Mongolia provides an exemplary case study of social security systems, as it stands out among transitional countries as one of the first to have introduced, within a short span of time, social insurance, public assistance, and social services systems that, taken together, take on the shape of a welfare state. The social insurance system consists of five insurance schemes―pension insurance, health insurance, industrial accident and occupational disease insurance, unemployment insurance, and benefit insurance―that also encompass worker's compensation insurance, pregnancy and maternity pensions, medical insurance for new mothers, and casualty benefits for short-term work stoppage. Mongolia’s social security system provides well-developed public assistance and social services to various socially vulnerable groups without requiring means-testing. Mongolia’s public assistance programs cater to diverse target groups, and there is also a tradition of rewarding individuals of national merit due to the socialist background. Overall, Mongolia’s social security system benefits not only socially vulnerable groups but also individuals in the upper-middle class.
Kazakhstan's public pension system consists of several components, including the universal State Basic Pension, the compulsory Old-Age Solidarity Social Insurance, the mandatory Individual Account, and an Old-Age Social Pension of a social assistance type. Currently, Kazakhstan is in the process of transitioning to a post-socialist welfare system. In light of this transition, we suggest that the government shares the responsibility of financing the Old-Age Social Pension with people as pension participants. It is essential to clarify the role of each tier of the pension system to ensure adequate retirement income. Also, steps should be taken to prevent a blind proliferation of social security funds and ensure the unique role of each fund in the system. Lastly, efforts should be made to coordinate the social security system from a holistic perspective.
The tendency of internal migration flows from rural areas towards urban areas has been increasing over the last two decades in Vietnam. Women account for more than half of all migrants. Compared with male migrants, female migrants tend to be more vulnerable in daily life, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of employment opportunities, salary, discrimination, sexual abuse, reproductive health, and child care. The government has built a diversified and comprehensive social security system that covers migrant workers. However, internal migrant workers still find it difficult to access social security policies, particularly employment, health and social insurance, and housing services. This paper, therefore, aims to explore social security issues faced by female internal migrants in Vietnam and then suggest appropriate policy recommendations.
In this article, I aim to discuss the status of social service coverage for migrants in some key welfare states and draw implications for Korea’s social security system. For this, I analyzed the status of social service entitlements for foreigners in the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, and Japan, focusing on the areas of care and housing. The majority of social care programs in Germany and Sweden are available to foreign nationals residing there legally. In Japan, foreigners can apply as nationals for many care and housing services, and long-term foreign residents can receive a wide range of services under the system. On the other hand, in the United Kingdom, many social services are unavailable to foreigners due to restrictions imposed by the immigration policy on social security benefits for foreigners. It is necessary to explore ways to improve social security concentrating on resident foreigners at the level of domestic social policy and migration policy.
Germany’s youth unemployment rate as of February 2023 was 5.7%, the lowest in the EU27. The decline in youth unemployment from 15.5% in 2005 to the current level is attributed to a combination of the Harz labor market flexibility reforms, Germany’s excellent dual system of vocational education and training, and EU-wide youth guarantee policies. This article examines the current status of Germany's dual vocational education and training system and youth security policies, and suggests implications for addressing youth unemployment and youth employment in Korea.
This article examines how public and private governance efforts are made in Japan and in the US in response to large-scale disasters requiring national-level post-disaster mental health support, focusing on the roles of organizations deployed on site in the immediate post-disaster period and how they perform their duties. In both Japan and the US, laws and guidelines are in place that clearly stipulate, in the area of mental health support, the responsibilities and roles of organizations and personnel deployed on site in the event of a disaster, with the mental health support system tending to be managed, in the event of a large-scale disaster, by a single agency with overarching supervisory authority. In light of the experiences of Japan and the US, the Korean government should increase its authority to enhance the consistency and coordination of its post-disaster mental health support system.
In the United States, discussions are going strong as to what social changes would come of the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, where basic income has figured as a center of attention in relation to the reconceptualization of labor and wages. This article examines the development and current status of the discussion of income debate in the United States. Basic income, as it conceptually comprises multiple institutional features and implementation modes, can be implemented in various forms of policy. To better understand the policy implications of basic income in the United States, this article examines basic income both in its historical context and in the current form of its implementation and examines the political movements that are underway in relation to basic income amid the changing public opinion and social environment following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Restorative justice has emerged as an approach to address the inequities and other structural problems that the
U.S. criminal justice system has been criticized for. Evidence from a diverse range of studies supports the idea
that restorative justice can serve as a viable alternative to increase victim satisfaction and reduce recidivism.
This article explores how and against what background restorative justice has grown in the U.S. criminal
justice system in recent years, examines the use of restorative justice in cases involving domestic violence, and
provides an outlook on issues related to its further expansion.
