Intergenerational contract in Ageing Democracies: sustainable Welfare Systems and the interests of future generations

The mediating role of trust in government in intergenerational transmission of fertility intentions

China's one-child policy was in effect from 1982 to 2015. However, the literature examining the association between people's trust in local government and intergenerational transmission of fertility intentions is scarce. To fill this gap, we investigated the impact of individuals' sibship size on their ideal number of children, the mediating effect of their trust in local government on the issue of fertility between two successive generations, and the moderating effect of education level on sibship size related to trust in local governments. Based on the 2019 Chinese Social Survey data, 2,340 respondents aged 18-35 participated in the analysis. The results showed that (i) individuals' number of siblings significantly positively predicted their ideal number of children; (ii) individuals' number of siblings significantly negatively predicted their trust in the local government, which in turn significantly negatively influenced fertility intentions; (iii) the mediating mechanism was significant in residents with higher levels of education, but not in people with lower degrees of education. Fertility-boosting incentives can prioritize couples who are the only child in their family. It is necessary for local governments to improve their credibility and strengthen their pregnancy-related communication with groups with higher levels of education.

Developmental trajectories of health and long-term care systems: The transitions of solidarity in four Asian countries

PURPOSE

Different from the development of health sector, there are significant variations in the underpinnings and formation timings of solidarity-based long-term care (LTC) systems. This paper compares the historical developmental trajectories and identifies factors of the transitions of the actual practices of solidarity - the scope of community, the scope of interdependence, and the costs of joint action - in the health and LTC sectors in four East Asian countries: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.

METHODS

Comparative policy analysis.

RESULTS

Healthcare tends to be considered a universal value such that its boundary should include all residents, while LTC is closer to an entitlement of citizens. The differing solidarity reflects path dependency as well as historical legacies and policy diffusion between the health and LTC sectors. In both health and LTC sectors, the costs involved in collective service provision are not distributed evenly between generations.

DISCUSSION

Centralized governance is a prevailing feature of health and LTC sectors in East Asia, allowing solidarity-based institutional arrangements to be established without an overall sense of solidarity. The relationship between solidarity and health and LTC systems is complex and dynamic.