Democracies, economies and social protection – Understanding welfare state development in Asia and Europe

The aim of this policy paper is to explore what we can expect for welfare states in the developing Asian countries when we apply our knowledge of why, when and how Western welfare states expanded to their current size. After an overview of welfare spending in Asia and the EU today this paper will present two theories of comparative social policy analysis which argued that the shape of today’s western welfare states can be explained by economic development and political conflict.