Activation Policies to Promote Employment for the Elderly

: the Symbolic Representation of Work and Welfare in the Self-reliance Support for the Needy Policy

Abstract

This paper examines the evolution of the Self-reliance Support for Poor and Needy Persons’ policy. The policy was first implemented in 2015 with the aim of preventing people from falling into poverty by providing personalised consultation and job-training services. In contrast to previous studies that evaluate work integration programmes from a functional perspective, this paper views welfare policy as a symbolic representation of dominant social norms relating to work, family, and welfare. In tracing the status of the elderly poor in relation to the self-reliance support programme, this paper argues that the programme’s evolution stands as a symbol of the decline of work protection and family support as sources of welfare on the one hand, and the role of local communities in cultivating individuals who can cope with individualised risks throughout their life-course on the other. The paper concludes by presenting two possible implications of the new welfare settlement.