This paper looks at welfare state systems in two city states, Singapore and Hong Kong. It traces the causes of welfare state development by investigating the history and politics of social welfare policy, and looks at social welfare institutions from a real-typical perspective, focusing on...

Since the ideologically coloured meaning of the 'welfare state', implying a massive level of redistribution and high government spending in the field of social policy, does not match the reality of a number of today's welfare state systems, especially outside Europe, this article examines the...