Article
Firm Compliance, State Enforcement and Social Insurance Coverage in China
Journal of Current Chinese Affairs
(2024)
Abstract
How did China achieve remarkable expansion in social insurance coverage in recent years? The significant social insurance coverage expansion in China since the mid-first decade of the twenty-first century appears to counter the findings of a substantial segment of the policy implementation literature, which portrays local governments as lacking enforcement capabilities and incentives. This study argues that firm compliance plays a crucial role in driving social insurance coverage expansion. It employs a novel strategy to verify the aforementioned argument by investigating informal sector workers’ social insurance enrolment status. Analysis of nationally representative survey data reveals that firm compliance emerges as a key factor. Although this study shows that state enforcement does not directly impact coverage expansion, it also establishes that the likelihood of firm compliance increases with the anticipated severity of government sanctions. These findings enhance the understanding of the roles of the state and firms in the expansion of social insurance coverage in China.
Keywords
- Social insurance,
- universal coverage,
- informal sector,
- policy implementation,
- China
Publication Date
Fall October 17, 2024
DOI
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/18681026241285044
Citation Information
Zhuoyi WEN. "Firm Compliance, State Enforcement and Social Insurance Coverage in China" Journal of Current Chinese Affairs (2024) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/zhuoyiwen/56/