Social Security

Abstract

Social security has been one of the most hotly debated topics in policy circles for much of the twentieth century. The debate has provoked much angst and controversy in the industrialised countries, many of which have had such programmes for more than a century now. Although Southeast Asia faces different social and economic conditions, the subject has been no less controversial. However, the debate in the region has been confined largely to the elites, though the economic crisis that erupted in 1997 may be changing that.