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of unemployment, and prolonged duration of transition to
permanent jobs. Furthermore, unemployment benefits are limited,
resulting in high market inequality (Gallie & Paugam, 2000;
OECD, 2015; Quintini et al., 2007; Vogel, 2003; Walther, 2006).
The post-socialist countries, which once offered full
employment and relative gender equality, have seen an increase in
unemployment and inequality. Since the late 1990s, post-socialist
countries, particularly Poland and Slovakia, have had the highest
youth unemployment and the largest earnings disparities (OECD,
2015; Quintini et al., 2007).
In East Asia, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and
Singapore experienced rapid and sustained economic growth and
an egalitarian income distribution. Full employment and a
compressed earnings distribution kept the poverty rate down
(Esping-Andersen, 1999; Tang, 2000). However, after the 1998
economic crisis and industrial restructuring (i.e. the decline in
manufacturing industry and the increase in the service sector), the
unemployment rate has risen and earnings gap have widened. In
2014, the unemployment rate for 15-to-24-year-olds reached
12.6% in Taiwan, 10% in South Korea, and 6% in Japan (Li, 2015;
OECD, 2015). Although youth poverty levels in East Asia were
lower than in most Western countries, the youth-to-adult
unemployment ratio of Taiwan and South Korea reached 3.2,
higher than the average ratio (2.2) of OECD countries. In 2013,
the gross earnings gap (D9/D1) reached 4.7 in South Korea (OECD,
2015). In other words, East Asian countries have moved away from
employment regimes featuring low inequality and full employment
to societies with rising inequality. In terms of work regulations and
employment policy, these countries are characterized by medium
employment protection (OECD, 2017) but less effective
enforcement of work regulations in some countries (e.g. Taiwan)
(Kan & Lin, 2011), low educational signaling, and limited welfare
provisions (Breen, 2005).