Social Policy & HK History Flashcards
Working Family Allowance (WFA)
- The number of beneficiaries under LIFA is too small
- The eligibility criteria and the application procedures are too stringent
→ The enhanced version of LIFA:benefit more working household
Public Transport fare Subsidy Scheme
(2019)
1. Relieve the fare burden of daily commuters
2. Whose public transport expenses are relatively high
Applicationnot required → Available for everyone
Robustness
the ability of a financial trading system to remain effective under different markets and conditions,
or the ability of an economic model to remain valid under different conditions.
Economic Situations
1997: Asian Financial Crisis
2003: SARS
2008: Global Financial Crisis
2014-2018 Robust Economy
2020: COVID-2019 Pandemic
Asian Financial Crisis
(1997):Relying on overheated financial and real estate development industries, Hong Kong’s bubble economy burst in 1997.
Unemployment rate: 2.2% (approximately 71000 unemployed people).
Increased CSSA case: to 30,290 cases in 1998.
Unemployed and low-income CSSA recipients without a full-time job were required to attend fortnightly interviews with staff of SWD, which provide them information on job vacancies and monitor efforts in job seeking
Unemployed and able-bodied CSSA recipients were required to perform unpaid community work for at least one day per week
SARS
(2003)
Unemployment rate: 8.7%
established the Poverty Alleviation Committee in 2005.
Decreased Standard amount of CSSA to restoring social security benefits to the original purchasing power to deal with four-year sustained deflation
Impact on social policy:
- decrease the number of CSSA recipients
- More community work internships were arranged immediately after entering the CSSA system
→ CSSA recipients acquired full-time jobs or withdrew from the CSSA increased by 50%.
the exemption income calculation mechanism for CSSA was improved in 2003 → able-bodied CSSA recipients to retain a certain percentage of their income without offsetting CSSA payments.
Robust Economy
(2014-2018)
Low unemployment rate: 3.0%
Decreased CSSA Recipients:mainly due to changes in the number of removals and arrivals
Government invested relatively less support to CSSA –> Hong Kong’s social service expenditure increased
introducing the Transport Subsidy Scheme in 2017, covering 25% of fares
COVID-2019
Increased unemployment rate: 5.81% in 2020
Increased CSSA cases: 319,200 persons in 2020
Cash payout scheme
Consumption Voucher Scheme
Increased allowances for older and disabled individuals
Additional payments to low-income households
Transportation fare discounts
Absolute poverty
Severe deprivation of basic human needs
Relative Poverty
A type of poverty that is determined by income distribution over a given population and defined according to societal norms
HK e.g. poverty line
Poverty Line
Set by Commission on Poverty in 2013
Poverty line defined as 50% of the median monthly household income of that household size group.
Gini Coefficient
- A statistical measure used to quantify the level of wealth inequality within a population
- The Gini coefficient ranges between 0-1(The higher the number, the greater the income inequality.)
Recurrent cash benefits (within poverty line)
Comprehensive Social Security Assistance
Old Age Living Allowance
Working Family Scheme
Non-cash benefits (within poverty line)
Public Housing
Policy beyond the poverty line
Health Care Voucher
$2 Scheme
Characteristics of elderly
- people aged 65 or above takes up were 20.5% of the total population in 2021
- More than 80% elderly resident are not engaged in economic activities
MPF’s relation to elderly poverty
Low income people cannot be benefit by MPF
Most of the elderly didn’t participate in MPF
The retirement period will be longer (20 years or above) since the life expectancy increase
Retirement Security
Non-contributory zero pillar
Mandatory first pillar
Mandatory second pillar
Voluntary third pillar
Voluntary fourth pillar
Non-contributory zero pillar
Publicly-funded pension or social security schemes E.g. CSSA, OALA
Mandatory first pillar
Publicly-managed mandatory contributory plans E.g. Universal Retirement Scheme
Mandatory second pillar:
Privately-managed mandatory occupational or private contributory pension plans E.g. MPF
Voluntary third pillar
Voluntary contributions or savings to occupational or private pension plans E.g. Annuity Plan
Voluntary fourth pillar
Public services, family support and personal assets E.g. Health Care Voucher
OALA Eligibility
Eligibility:
Age:Aged 65 or above
HK Resident: Have been a HK resident for at least seven years
Have resided in HK continuously for one year
Income & Asset Limit:
Single Person: $10,710 $401,000
Married Couple: $16,330 $608,000
No Double benefit: Not in receipt of OAA or DA or CSSA
Ideology behind OALA:
Neoliberalism:
Individualism: Encouraging self-reliance, Labor is a responsibility and dignity of human
Sustainable: Provides appropriate support through a sustainable social security and welfare system
Liberal Welfare State Regimes: Residual model, Means-tested assistance, Categorical benefits
Financial Well-being:
the perception of being able to sustain current and anticipated desired living standards and financial freedom
.
a multi- dimensional concept involving financial satisfaction, objective status of financial situation, financial attitudes, and behavior
Physical Well-being:
-recognizing the need for physical activity, healthy foods, and sleep
-preventing illness and injury or managing chronic health conditions.
Psychological Well-being:
→ To be able to assess their living situation and be satisfied
-Cognitive Part: an information based,conscious evaluations of one’s life satisfaction
-Affective Part: a hedonic evaluation guided by emotions and feelings
Social Well-being:
- well-integrated into their communities
- Social health-> social support+social adjustment
Negative freedom
absence of coercion by others
As long as such opportunity is available, freedom is realised
Positive Freedom:
- possessing resources and capacity to be autonomous
- To enable an individual to exercise the freedom one possesses, provision of resources and services is needed.
- Welfare state or public provision of welfare is implied
Egalitarianism
everyone should have the same rights, opportunities, and treatment, regardless of their background
emphasizes the idea that all people should be treated as equals and have equal access to resources and opportunities in society.
Liberal Feminism
Focus: sameness
Principle: women and men are born equal.
It asserted the women’s ability and right to participate in public
sphere at least through the suffrage
Policy orientation:, Equal opportunities, Examination of marriage institution, legal practices of divorce and property law,
Access to same quality education as men,
End of treatment of women as dependent individual on their husband or fathers legally
Socialist Feminism
Focus: Structural inequalities.
- The unpaid labour of women could facilitate the labour reproduction and minimise the costs.
- Women as reserve labour are exploited by capitalists
Dual system approach: Capitalism and patriarchy as distinct but interlocking system shaping women’s position
Women are devalued in the economic system because their work has traditionally focused on domestic work so as not to have the equal value as the work of men, which means the domestic work does not benefit to financial gain for a family.
Policy: structural changes