Colonial State and Social Policy

Download or read book Colonial State and Social Policy written by Kwong-Leung Tang and published by University Press of America. This book was released on 1998 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colonial State and Social Policy looks at the determinants of social policy in developing countries in general and Hong Kong in particular in an attempt to remedy inconsistent results, artificial dichotomies of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and an obvious neglect of developing countries in the field of social policy research. Using an integrated approach of quantitative and historical analysis, the study tests out the variables as predicted by the dominant theories in the case of Hong Kong. Of the three major theoretical approaches that dominate research, the industrial society approach, the social democratic model, and the state centered theory, the state centered theory offers the best explanation of policy development. Meanwhile, historical analysis delineates four phases of social development which are marked by different approaches: residualism, "big bang" expansion, incrementalism, and privatization. The results of the study cast many doubts on the applicability of the concept of the "welfare-state regime," as the developmentalist state of Hong Kong has turned to social welfare to create a peaceful environment for its economic development and to enhance the legitimacy of the colonial system.