Contemporary German social security system

Author: He Chunlei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-03-28
Features: This book is the first monograph in China to systematically study the German social security system. The author utilizes extensive primary sources to conduct a comprehensive research and systematic description of the emergence, evolution, and reforms of the German social security system, revealing the implications of Germany's social security reform experience for transforming countries. Germany is one of the earliest countries to establish social insurance systems, and its early social policy legislation serves as an important historical origin of modern social security systems. The contemporary German social security system, characterized by social cooperationism, is also one of the main models of social security systems in the world today. The German social security system is rooted in the social market economy system, with mutual assistance, equivalence, and balance as its guiding principles, and features highly autonomous administrative management. After the reunification of East and West Germany, this system effectively addressed the historical legacy issues of the former East Germany. The book provides accurate and detailed descriptions of the development and evolution of German social security thought, national social policy, and social legislation; the reasons, characteristics, and functions of the revival of the social security system after World War II; the institutional structure, management structure, and operational mechanisms of the social security system; and the problems exposed and reform measures implemented since the 1970s. It also offers a detailed analysis and commentary on the content, structure, principles, characteristics, operational methods, and development trends of Germany's pension insurance system, medical insurance system, reforms of statutory medical insurance plans, statutory nursing insurance, labor protection statutory insurance, and rural social security system. The book summarizes and generalizes the development experience of the German social security system, particularly after reunification. A rational analysis of German social security issues can provide valuable insights for designing and structuring a Chinese social security system with distinctive characteristics. Among these insights, Germany's experience in handling the implicit debts and transition issues of the former East German social security system, as well as the recommendations from German experts at the end of the book on "how to establish a new social security system" in checklist form, hold significant reference value for the reconstruction of China's social security system.