To tackle the severe old-age poverty, the Korean government introduced the Basic Pension (BP) in 2007 for the elderly with lower income. Since then, the non-contributory scheme has continued to develop and become one of the main public pension programs along with the earnings-related National Pension Scheme (NPS). The existing literature on the BP has been mainly conducted from the domestic perspective which involves political and socio-economic factors such as electoral competition and high old-age poverty rates. In contrast, this study pays special attention to international aspects (situated Learning) and domestic advocacy coalitions which translates in into the Korean context.

We take into consideration the three pension reforms in 1998, 2007, and 2014, which played a significant role in the development of the BP. Hence, this study aims to identify which attributes were critical to BP expansions. Through the three reforms, the existing BP has developed with a series of modifications and reinterpretations. In the Korean case, the initial reform model was considered with the reference of the World Bank’s conceptual framework. Later, the advocacy coalition for the BP continued to strategically reinterpret the international model in order to fit it in the Korean context. We also show that securing solid institutional positioning in the policy arena plays a crucial role in the introduction of a social policy such as the BP.

Won Sub Kim is Professor of Sociology at Korea University (South Korea). Born in South Korea, he studied sociology at Korea University and Bremen University and received his PhD from Bielefeld University. His scientific work centres on theory of the welfare state, old age income security systems and the East Asian Welfare State. Before coming to Korea University, he taught at Bielefeld University in Germany and at Kyung-Sang National University in South Korea. He has published a number of books and articles.

PEW offers a platform to discuss early/unpublished papers that investigate the political economy, broadly construed, of social policy and inequality, with the ambition to bring together researchers at the SOCIUM and beyond, across methodological divides and with varying levels of experience.

The workshop format is as follows: Authors briefly introduce the background of the paper (1-2 minutes), a discussant shortly summarizes the paper and provides feedback (10-15 minutes), and subsequently we open to the audience. Papers are circulated one week in advance.

And most importantly, everyone is warmly welcome to attend!

You can sign up here for our mailing list.

PEW offers a platform to discuss early/unpublished papers that investigate the political economy, broadly construed, of social policy and inequality, with the ambition to bring together researchers at the SOCIUM and beyond, across methodological divides and with varying levels of experience.

The workshop format is as follows: Authors briefly introduce the background of the paper (1-2 minutes), a discussant shortly summarizes the paper and provides feedback (10-15 minutes), and subsequently we open to the audience. Papers are circulated one week in advance.

And most importantly, everyone is warmly welcome to attend!

You can sign up here for our mailing list.

The governance and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia involve a complex interplay of legal frameworks, bilateral agreements, and social policies. While both Indonesia and Malaysia have established policies to safeguard migrant workers' rights, the practical implementation often faces significant challenges. Indonesian migrant workers encounter issues such as legal status uncertainties, poor working conditions, and limited access to social services. This presentation examines the roles of both countries' policies, focusing on how bilateral cooperation and regional frameworks influence the protection mechanisms. It seeks to answer critical questions: What are the primary challenges faced by Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia? How effective are the current social policies in addressing these challenges? What improvements can be made to enhance the protection and well-being of these workers? By shedding light on these issues, the presentation aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the governance and protection mechanisms for Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, highlighting the importance of effective social policies and regional cooperation in ensuring their rights and welfare.

Andi Luhur Prianto, PhD is a lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar. He also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal "Otoritas: Jurnal Ilmu Pemerintahan." His research focuses on urban politics, governance, and development issues. With extensive experience, Andi engages in in-depth research and projects aimed at providing solutions to key challenges in these fields. He is also actively involved in organizing workshops and writing scholarly papers to support the development of policies and best practices in his areas of expertise.

Aqmal Reza Amri is a lecturer at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar. He is actively managing the "Journal of Contemporary Governance and Public Policy (JCGPP)" and is a researcher at the "Pusat Penelitian Ilmu Sosial dan Humaniora Kontemporer (PPISHK)" in Indonesia. His research focuses on civil society studies, migration studies, and indigenous people. Aqmal has conducted various studies on the social policies affecting these areas, and he has been involved in several projects aimed at addressing the challenges faced by marginalized communities.

PEW offers a platform to discuss early/unpublished papers that investigate the political economy, broadly construed, of social policy and inequality, with the ambition to bring together researchers at the SOCIUM and beyond, across methodological divides and with varying levels of experience.

The workshop format is as follows: Authors briefly introduce the background of the paper (1-2 minutes), a discussant shortly summarizes the paper and provides feedback (10-15 minutes), and subsequently we open to the audience. Papers are circulated one week in advance.

And most importantly, everyone is warmly welcome to attend!

You can sign up here for our mailing list.

Dorottya Szikra is Research Professor and Head of Department at the Centre for Social Sciences, Budapest, and Visiting Professor at the Department of Gender Studies, CEU Vienna. She is teaching Welfare State and Gender under Undemocratic Rule and Critical Theory on Policy and Practice in 2023/2024. She is the country-lead of the ERC project WelfareExperiences analyzing how different welfare systems can affect people's mental health and chances of returning to work.

Szikra is also associated with CEU Democracy Institute where she led a CIVICA reseach project entitled Welfare, Democracy, and Populism under the COVID-19 Crisis (WELDECO). Szikra's main research field is welfare state and family policy development in Central and Eastern Europe. Between 2016 and 2020 she acted as the co-chair of the European Social Policy Analysis Network (ESPAnet). She has acted as a member of the editorial boards of various journals, including the European Journal of Social Security, the Hungarian on-line journal socio.hu and since 2020 the Journal of European Social Policy. Since 2021 she has served as a member of the EC commissioned High-Level Group on the future of social protection and of the welfare state in the EU.

PEW offers a platform to discuss early/unpublished papers that investigate the political economy, broadly construed, of social policy and inequality, with the ambition to bring together researchers at the SOCIUM and beyond, across methodological divides and with varying levels of experience.

The workshop format is as follows: Authors briefly introduce the background of the paper (1-2 minutes), a discussant shortly summarizes the paper and provides feedback (10-15 minutes), and subsequently we open to the audience. Papers are circulated one week in advance.

And most importantly, everyone is warmly welcome to attend!

You can sign up here for our mailing list.

PEW offers a platform to discuss early/unpublished papers that investigate the political economy, broadly construed, of social policy and inequality, with the ambition to bring together researchers at the SOCIUM and beyond, across methodological divides and with varying levels of experience.

The workshop format is as follows: Authors briefly introduce the background of the paper (1-2 minutes), a discussant shortly summarizes the paper and provides feedback (10-15 minutes), and subsequently we open to the audience. Papers are circulated one week in advance.

And most importantly, everyone is warmly welcome to attend!

You can sign up here for our mailing list.

This study investigates the impact of Indonesia’s flagship conditional cash transfer (CCT) program—PKH—on violent crime. Exploiting data from a randomized controlled trial and administrative data from the staggered nationwide program roll-out in combination with different causal identification strategies, we show that communities receiving access to the CCT experienced an increase in violent crime.  Examining possible mechanisms, our analysis reveals that the program resulted in an increase in idleness among non-targeted male youth within beneficiary households, which we believe contributed to the rise in violent crime. In contrast, we show that the surge in violent crime is neither related to PKH increasing the (monetary and non-monetary) rewards for committing crime nor to alternative reductions in the (material, psychic, punishment-related) costs of engaging in crimes.

Krisztina Kis-Katos is Professor for International Economic Policy at the University of Göttingen. She studied Economics in Szeged and Konstanz, attended the Swiss Doctoral Program at the Study Center Gerzensee, and received her doctoral degree in Economics in 2010 at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Her research interests lie in the fields of applied development economics and political economy. Her recent research projects focus on the effects of (de-)globalization and more generally of macro-economic processes or related public policies on a range of social and economic outcomes, including labor market and firm outcomes, land use change and deforestation, or conflict.