Shanghai aged care and Confucian welfare
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 13 August 2018
Issue publication date: 17 August 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Some social policy theorists assert that East Asia has a distinct social welfare regime that due to the influence of Confucian values relies on families more than in other countries. This theorisation has been questioned, partly because it is a static, reductive generalisation. The purpose of this paper is to ask whether this characterisation is relevant to aged care services in Shanghai.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses data from ageing profile statistics, policy documents and ethnographic fieldwork to examine Shanghai aged care services.
Findings
These data show a growing reliance and preference for state aged care service provision to complement family care. It finds that changes in Shanghai aged care services in the last ten years have moved towards a model with similar patterns in high-income countries. It suggests that differences in the service system that were attributed to Confucian values were more likely due to the degree of economic development and internationalisation.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by re-examining the structure of Shanghai’s welfare regime in the context of the dynamic nature of aged care services and preferences of older people.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Reserve Bank of Australia. This work was mostly completed while the author Karen R. Fisher was affiliated with the Australian National University.
Citation
Fisher, K.R., Zhang, X. and Alston, M. (2018), "Shanghai aged care and Confucian welfare", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 38 No. 9/10, pp. 722-735. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-01-2018-0003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited