Exclusion or Inclusion: National Differential Regulations of Migrant Workers' Employment, Social Protection, and Migrations Policies on Im/Mobilities in East Asia-Examples of South Korea and Taiwan

Low fertility rates and an aging society, growing long-term care needs, and workforce shortages in professional, industrial, and care sectors are emerging issues in South Korea and Taiwan. Both governments have pursued economic/industrial growth as productive welfare capitalism and enacted preferred selective migration policies to recruit white-collar migrant workers (MWs) as mobile elites, but they have also adopted regulations and limitations on blue-collar MWs through unfree labor relations, precarious employment, and temporary legal status to provide supplemental labor. In order to demonstrate how multiple policy regulations from a national level affect MWs' precarity of labor in their receiving countries, which in turn affect MWs' im/mobilities, this article presents the growing trends of transnational MWs, regardless of them being high- or low-skilled MWs, and it evaluates four dimensions of labor migration policies-MWs' working and employment conditions, social protection, union rights and political participation, and access to permanent residency in both countries. We found that the rights and working conditions of low-skilled MWs in Korea and Taiwan are improving slowly, but still lag behind those of high-skilled MWs which also affects their public health and well-being. The significant difference identified here is that MWs in Taiwan can organize labor unions, which is strictly prohibited in Korea; pension protection also differs between the nations. Additionally, an application for permanent residency is easier for high-skilled migrant workers compared with low-skilled MWs and both the Korean and Taiwanese immigration policies differentiate the entry and resident status for low-skilled and professional MWs from dissimilar class backgrounds. Policy recommendations for both countries are also discussed.

COVID-19 in Latin America: The effects of an unprecedented crisis on employment and income

In 2020, Latin America was gripped by an unprecedented labour crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article analyses the pandemic's impact on employment and income dynamics, and the policies implemented by the countries in the region. Findings point to a severe contraction in employment, working hours and income in consequence of the sharp decline in economic activity. These impacts have fostered inequalities, and the pathway to recovery is widening employment and income gaps between different population groups.

Resisting austerity measures to social policies: multiple explanatory case studies

Since Margaret Thatcher reached power in the United Kingdom, European governments have increasingly turned to neoliberal forms of policy-making, focusing, especially after the 2008 Great Recession on 'austerity policies' rather than investing in social protection policies. We applied a multiple explanatory case studies methodology to examine how and why challenges and resistance to these austerity measures are successful or not in four settings for three different social policy issues: using a gender lens in state budgeting in Andalusia (Spain), maintaining unemployment benefits in Italy and cuts to fuel poverty reduction programs in Northern Ireland and England. In particular, we intended to learn about whether resistance strategies are shared across disparate cases or whether there are unique activities that lead to successful resistance to austerity policies. As our approach drew from realist philosophy of science, we started with initial theories concerning collective action, political ideology and political power of affected populations. Our findings suggest that there are similarities between the cases we studied despite differences in political and policy contexts. We found that joint action between advocacy groups was effective in resisting cuts to social spending. Evidence also indicates that the social construction of target populations is important in resisting changes to social programmes. This was observed in both England and Northern Ireland where pensioners held significant political clout.

Employment and Labor Market Results of the SOPHIE Project: Concepts, Analyses, and Policies

This article reports evidence gained by the SOPHIE Project regarding employment and labor market-related policies. In the first step, quality of employment and of precarious and informal employment in Europe were conceptualized and defined. Based on these definitions, we analyzed changes in the prevalence and population distribution of key health-affecting characteristics of employment and work between times of economic prosperity and economic crisis in Europe and investigated their impact on health outcomes. Additionally, we examined the effects of several employment and labor market-related policies on factors affecting health equity, including a specific analysis concerning work-related gender equity policies and case studies in different European countries. Our findings show that there is a need to standardize definitions and indicators of (the quality of) employment conditions and improve information systems. This is challenging given the important differences between and within European countries. In our results, low quality of employment and precarious employment is associated with poor mental health. In order to protect the well-being of workers and reduce work-related health inequalities, policies leading to precarious working and employment conditions need to be suspended. Instead, efforts should be made to improve the security and quality of employment for all workers.