Social Policies and Life Satisfaction in Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore

Abstract

This research is about the social policies and life satisfaction in Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. It will help us to understand the social policies of the above mentioned countries that if they are feasible or not for the residents. Along with that it will also help us to know about the satisfaction of the citizen of Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Social policies and life satisfaction indicator measures the overall judgment that individuals have on their lives, rather than their feelings of the moment. It reflects a reflection on the circumstances and conditions of life that are important for subjective well-being.

Social Policies and Life Satisfaction in Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore

Introduction

Measure feelings can be very subjective, but it is a useful complement to more objective data to compare the quality of life in many countries. The collected data can provide a personal evaluation of health status, level of education, income, level of well-being and social situation of the persons concerned. This is particularly based on surveys that we measure the satisfaction with life and happiness.

Comparitive analysis

Source: Veenhoven 2010

Life satisfaction in Korea is relatively low. Koreans rank their life satisfaction slightly higher than Bangladesh and slightly lower than the average for 13 Asian economies (6.5). At the same time, they rank much lower than non-Asian OECD countries such as Australia and New Zealand (respectively 7.3 and 7.9), and lower than the average for 30 OECD countries (6.7). Economic development does not seem to determine life satisfaction in general, since industrialised economies such as Korea and Japan rank lower than developing economies such as Viet Nam and Thailand.

Asia has the world's highest life expectancies, with Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Korea being at 80 years or above. Let's now turn to health spending. For the advanced economies, it ranges from $1,800 a person per year for Singapore to $3,400 for Japan, and Korea in between. Korea and Japan are just below the OECD average of 12.7 years. Economies like Hong Kong, Singapore, are in the 8-10 year range. A broadly similar picture emerges for early childhood education. ountries with a fertility rate above the regional average of 2.5 births per woman tend to be the poorer countries. There are terribly low birthrates for some advanced countries like Hong Kong (1.0), Korea (1.2), Singapore (1.3) and Japan (1.3).

The real population drama is Asia's lost women, as reflected in the high numbers of males per 100 females aged 0-4 years, Hong Kong 108, Korea 108 and Singapore 107, compared with a regional average of 106 and an OECD average of 105. This is the product of a strong preference for males leading to sex-selective abortion, females infanticide or the unequal allocatioon of health care and food towards males.

When it comes to income inequality, most of the Asia-Pacific countries surveyed have higher rates of inequality than the OECD average, with the worst cases being Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and ...