| Theories for the study of social welfare policy in a comparative context have developed primarily as the study of European, industrialized democracies. The question of whether this literature represents a general theoretical perspective or culture specific effects is a major focus of this dissertation. The dissertation applies theory developed in comparative studies of nations with developed social security systems to a set of Asian nations which have significant levels of industrial development, approximations of democratic systems, but diverse levels of social security development.;The dissertation tests hypotheses that find determinants of welfare systems in a variety of social forces. The data show that, as in European nations, levels of economic development and even export oriented trade are significant causes of social welfare development. But, thresholds of economic development are more a necessary condition than a sufficient one. Mobilization of interests, such as growth of an industrial labor force, growth of an aging population, and growth of public sector activity, prove to be more significant and proximate causes of support for social welfare.;The study utilizes a data set pooled across time and space to test hypotheses in eight nations: Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand. The ability to combine temporal and spatial effects in a pooled data model permit generalizations that transcend case by case analysis. Thus, idiosyncrasies of nations are avoided in favor of a general, theoretical approach.;Results of the analysis indicate that existing theories of social welfare development have applications across regions and cultures. These findings provide support for general theoretical models based upon cross national comparisons beyond social welfare and beyond regional contexts and encouragement for development of general theory in the discipline of political science. |
