Advancing social equity in East Asia: education and health care policy in China, South Korea, and Singapore

ABSTRACT

Social equity is about asking who ought to get what and for whom is this programme good. With a focus on East Asia, this article examines how social equity is both conceptualised and put into practice outside of the Western context. An assessment of education and health care policy in China, Korea, and Singapore reveals four common themes about social equity in the East Asian context: shifting priorities on equity over time, balancing equity and meritocracy, prioritising distributional equity, and the importance of geography. These four themes demonstrate the need for a more global understanding of social equity.

KEYWORDS:

• Social equity
• health care policy
• education policy
• East Asia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. In Chinese, it is “chuci fenpei he zai fenpei douyao jiangu xiaolv he gongping, zai fenpei gengjia zhuzhong gongping” (初次分配和再分配都要兼顾效率和公平, 再分配更加注重公平). The full text can be accessed at http://www.xinhuanet.com//18cpcnc/2012-11/17/c_113711665.htm.

2. Also includes expenses for culture and recreation.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Morgen Johansen

Morgen Johansen is Professor of Public Administration at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her research focuses on social equity and managerial behaviour in public and non- profit organisations, particularly in American hospitals. She is the editor of the book “Social Equity in the Asia-Pacific Region: Conceptualizations and Realities.