Abstract
Scholars have frequently argued that the East-Asian welfare system model is characterized by
the backwardness of a welfare state in the region and distinguished by the practice of family members
and private firms supplementing an incomplete social security system. There are no actual comparative
studies on company welfare; however, pioneering studies on the family' s role in caring for elder
persons in East Asia has started in recent years. To re-examine conventional understandings on this
matter, we conducted joint research that focused on the company welfare system in six select countries
(economies): China, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. Our surveys included
questions regarding management-side views of company welfare, varieties of company fringe benefits
(with a selection of 24 items, including housing, canteen, meal subsidies, and transportation), and the
composition of labor costs (legal benefits, non-legal benefits, and retirement allowance). We obtained
804 samples.
After examining the results of our questionnaires, we were unable to identify any characteristics of
company welfare systems unique to East Asia. All of the selected countries agreed with the notion that
company welfare is important, but the reasons behind this agreement and the managerial considerations
regarding the trade-off between company fringe benefits and a performance-based wage system are
quite different between each surveyed country. The composition of labor costs also exhibits variety. The
countries included in this survey may be categorized into four groups: Japan-Korea-Taiwan, Singapore-Malaysia,
Thailand-Indonesia, and China. Variations included differences in the path-dependency used
in designing a social security system, the role of international organizations such as ILO, and company
strategy. Consequently, we have concluded that it is difficult to assert that company welfare is one of
the common elements essential to characterizing an East Asian welfare system, both in references to
Confucianism as well as a familial managerial system.
