Subnational Welfare Variations in Social Protection Programs: A Comparative Analysis between Big and Small Cities in East Asia

Cross-national comparative welfare studies often neglect subnational variations in welfare design, obscuring the extent of geographic equity in welfare rights within societies. By examining welfare disparities within countries, the relative positions across societies can vary substantially. In this paper, we focus on East Asia (Japan, South Korea, Mainland China, and Taiwan) and aim to challenge methodological nationalism in welfare literature. Our objective is to compare the generosity of social protection systems both across and within these four East Asian societies. To achieve this, we have selected cities representing the top and bottom 10 percent in population size within each respective society: Tokyo, Aomori, Seoul, Iksan, Beijing, Tongchuan, Taipei, and Chiayi. Employing a model family approach, we collect income packaging data for three hypothetical family profiles (single adult female, single mother with one child aged 5 years, and two adults with two children aged 7 and 14) across three income levels (no earnings, 50% and 100% of national average earnings), totaling nine families per city. The income packaging data encompasses labor income, income tax, social security contributions, essential costs, and social benefits. Our results reveal the most pronounced discrepancies in welfare entitlements between big and small cities in Taiwan and mainland China, while regional disparities are comparatively minimal in Korea, followed by Japan. To deepen our understanding, we incorporate additional data to explore whether these findings stem from differences in the cost of living, the presence and tolerance of inequality, fiscal capacity, or demographic factors.