Reform and Development of China's Social Security System

Author: Wang Dongjin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: This book systematically discusses the basic ideas of the central government on establishing and improving the social security system, the historical experience of establishing and reforming China's social security system, as well as the fundamental guidelines and tasks for deepening the reform to establish a social security system that adapts to the primary stage of socialism and meets the requirements of a socialist market economy. The book analyzes the progress and challenges of reforming China's social security system, systematically elaborates on the basic principles and approaches for establishing and improving the social security system, as well as the urgent tasks and key issues to be addressed in advancing the reform. It provides a comprehensive introduction and evaluation of China's various social security systems and management reforms. Using the method of "combining history and theory," it thoroughly analyzes and discusses the historical evolution, reform measures, defects and crises of the current system, as well as the tasks and guidelines for further deepening the reform of various systems such as social pension insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance, work-related injury insurance, maternity insurance, social security legal system, social security management, rural social security, social welfare, social relief, and social preferential treatment. In the past decade, China's social security system has achieved innovations that have realized "three transformations": from "universal welfare" to "social insurance," from "enterprise self-reliance" to "social mutual assistance," and from "egalitarianism and the big pot" to "prioritizing efficiency while fairness." The introduction of the "individual account" mechanism is particularly significant. However, due to the complex social environment of China's economic system reform, especially the reform of state-owned enterprises, and due to the inherent flaws of the basic security goal model, some deep-seated issues in the system's operation have become increasingly apparent. These include difficulties in financing social insurance premiums, the demand for social insurance premiums growing far faster than the increase in contributors, the continuous rise in the employee burden coefficient, the increasingly severe funding situation for the foundation, the arduous task of expanding coverage, the lack of long-term crisis response strategies for an aging population, and management loopholes caused by the lack of unified management agencies. These issues fail to meet the actual needs of economic and social life and must be further deepened through reform.