This study aims to understand the factors and dynamics that influenced a major social policy change. This is undertaken by unravelling the policymaking processes involved in the largest public pension scheme in Korea, the National Pension System (NPS). Changes to the NPS followed a very different direction to other expansionary welfare developments either in Korea or in similar East Asian welfare systems. This research set out to explain how and why this happened. This is examined via a case study approach with a particular focus on the role of policy actors. This provides an analysis of this single policy change across three time periods, which are characterised by different political and economic regimes: authoritarian rule; democratisation in the midst of a financial crisis; and finally a democracy in recovery from the financial crisis. Data was gained from 44 interviews with the actual policymakers and major policy actors involved, and was complemented by extensive archival data. The findings suggest that, first, although authoritarian governments in Korea may pursue social policy to harness economic development in order to legitimise their non-democratic rule, subtle yet crucial policy competition can still exist among key policy actors. Second, democratisation does not necessarily lead to a dominant view favouring welfare system expansion. Third, new major policy actors - strengthened by a democratic, centre-left government - may not always favour an expansive welfare system. The analysis suggests that, despite the emergence of an increased range and number of policy actors as the democracy matured, there was a marked continuity in policy development in the case of the NPS. Key policy actors pursued a reform in line with liberal economic policy that had been the dominant tendency during the authoritarian era. This suggests that the major mechanism contributing to this continuity was the role of a persistent and powerful epistemic policy community, members of which continued to influence policymaking throughout its development. The conclusion points to how incremental changes in the pension system led to the path dependency of the original policy ideas. We suggest that future research could apply a similar analytical approach to understanding change processes in various policy domains and to other East Asian welfare systems.

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Bibliography: leaves 294-314

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 262-297). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Cleveland State University, 2009. / Abstract. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jan. 27, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 185-203). Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center and also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 1977. / Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 206-228). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

The purpose of this study was to train teachers and peers to increase social interactions of children who had been identified as having a lack of social interactions in an inclusive preschool in Korea. Four children with disabilities were identified by teachers as lacking social interactions with peers and teachers, and were the focal subjects of the study. The focal children, four teachers, and four classes of peer children participated in two interventions, an initial training on naturalistic teaching strategies with teachers and a training on social skills with peer and focal children, and a combined intervention. A multiple probe design was employed to examine effects of the two interventions during free choice play periods. The four teachers were trained on naturalistic teaching strategies, and peers and focal children in each class participated in a training on social interactions for the first intervention phase. The second intervention was a combined intervention consisting of both naturalistic teaching strategies of teachers and a ‘group game’ in which peer children used social interaction skills with focal children. This study consisted of baseline I, training teachers and children with baseline II, the combined intervention, and the maintenance phase. The results of this study indicate that focal children’s mean percentage of social interactions with teachers and peers in free choice play periods increased from baseline I after the initial training with baseline II. The maintenance phase indicated that mean percentages of social interactions of focal children increased from the mean percentages of social interactions in baseline I. This study may contribute to issues of training teachers on naturalistic teaching strategies and children on social skill interactions in an inclusive preschool in Korea, and the United States, for promoting social interactions with children with disabilities. / text

As socio-cultural concerns have gained currency in the sustainability discourse since the 1990s, facilitation of social cohesion has been emphasised as a precautionary measure to solve urban problems in distressed areas. In South Korea, as the tradition of social solidarity in residential communities has been substantially eroding, economically vulnerable groups have increasingly become helpless and hopeless. In order to suggest planning and management recommendations to improve the social cohesion of the impoverished communities, this study examined how the physical environment affects the social cohesiveness of the most disadvantaged public rental housing communities in South Korea. Four public rental housing estates in Seoul were selected for case studies. Based on the data collected by a questionnaire survey, interviews and field observation, the relationship among community cohesion, residents’ perception of the environment and their use of facilities in the housing estate and surrounding neighbourhoods was investigated quantitatively and qualitatively. The social cohesiveness of the public rental housing communities was assessed with the fourteen indicators in three dimensions. The dimension of ‘shared norms and trust’ was found to be the most evident, followed by 'attachment to housing estate' and ‘social networking.’ The level of social cohesiveness differed across the communities, and a community with stronger cohesiveness was found to be more active in community self-help and voluntary problem solving activities. The regression analysis proved that ‘shared norms and trust’ was affected by residents’ perception of housing block design, neighbourhood landmarks, educational facilities, residents' daily length of stay in the estate and their frequency of retail facilities use. Attachment to housing estate was influenced by residents’ perception of community facilities, retail facilities, educational environment, estate deterioration and spatial isolation. Social networking was affected by residents’ frequency in the use of retail facilities and public spaces, where diverse groups of people met. This study also identified the underlying factors affecting these relationships. Externally, the location of housing estates near commercial zones was significant. Internally, housing block arrangements creating more enclosed public spaces and attractive landscape, high quality welfare centres, regular maintenance and refurbishment of buildings, participatory revitalisation programs, community activities organised by welfare centres were found to enhance residents' perception and use of the facilities, thus improving community cohesiveness. In contrast, locations in areas with worn-out public housing estates, low quality retail facilities, poor ability of housing managers to organise surveillance and revitalisation programs, and residents’ low participation were adverse factors. With weakening collectivism but rising individualism, the traditional cultural influence on social cohesiveness has waned. Instead, good educational facilities in the neighbourhood, extensive use of public spaces, collective perception of poverty, incorporation of neighbourhood environment into estate environment and aspiration for good neighbouring are conducive to the community cohesion. Therefore, allocation of housing estates in the neighbourhoods with sufficient retail facilities, educational facilities and neighbourhood landmarks is suggested. More attractive housing block arrangements and the improvement of the retail facilities and welfare centres, consistent management of participatory revitalisation programs and more efficient investment in refurbishment of worn-out public housing estates are also recommended. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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