Along with developing the economy, it is essential for every nation to ensure social security since this is the primary factor which maintains national stability as well as motivates the implementation of desired purposes and plans. Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, three countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which have rather distinctive features, have attempted to develop their economies and implemented effective policies to tackle several issues of social security. Vietnam, another country in ASEAN, also has put much effort to complete socio-economic missions in order for the nation to head to a modern industrialised economy by 2020. Besides maintaining economic growth, the government needs to concentrate more on social issues, effectively implement social security policies and secure sustainable development.
With the aim to meet an urgent need for theoretical and empirical analysis, the book called “Solutions for social security issues of Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and lessons learned for Vietnam”, which was written by Assoc.Prof. Dr. Nguyen Duy Dung et al. from Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, was published by Social Sciences Publishing House. This is one of the basic and empirical research directions of Institute for Southeast Asian Studies. The content of the book focuses on analysis and clarification of current situations and solutions for social security issues of Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, following that lessons learned from their experiences are suggested to Vietnam.
Besides introduction and conclusion, the book is divided into three chapters which are: Chapter 1: Factors affect social security in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines; Chapter 2: Current situations of social security in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines from 1990 to present; and Chapter 3: Experiences of solving social security problems in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines and lessons learned for Vietnam.
Chapter 1: basing on approaches to social security in general, and concepts and problem-posing methods of Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines in particular, the author analysed general economic, political and social factors; specific factors based on particularities of each country (economic recession, political instability, changes in demographics, labour markets and so on) which significantly influence national social security systems of the three countries mentioned above.
Chapter 2: the authors interpreted current situations of social security in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines in terms of regulations and laws, implementations of specific regimes, operation and social security programmes (social insurance, insurance for people who are sick, pregnant and disabled and unable to work or died, insurance for children, old people, unemployed dwellers, pension, natural disaster mitigation, emergency assistance, and so on). Through doing so, successes, as well as limitations and challenges of social security in each country, were analysed. As the result, Thailand and Philippines were highly appreciated for their most comprehensive social insurance systems which include insurance for people who are sick, old and dead; insurance for inhabitants who suffer from disease or are pregnant; providing medical treatments; and occupational accident insurance. In addition, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines are currently implementing micro-insurance mechanism beneficiaries of which are urban and rural societies who are not able to apply initiatives to self-protect from daily risks. In general, the extent of micro-insurance is still neither high nor popular.
Chapter 3: From the experiences in solving social security issues in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, the authors described the whole picture of current situation (main policies, social insurance, policies aiming to medical treatments and health insurance, education insurance and social protection, social assistance, labour policies, job security); analysed successes and limitations of national social security system in Vietnam. Through doing so, lessons learned were suggested to Vietnam including (1) developing and completing regulations and laws of social security; (2) socialising social security activities; (3) encouraging and enhancing the roles of social organisations (non-government organisations) in social security activities; (4) taking advantaging of international support; (5) having appropriate solutions to tackle limitations in social security as soon as possible.
The experiences in social security from ASEAN countries as a whole and from Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines in particular, are valuable lessons learned for Vietnam. Especially, the year 2015 marking the formation of ASEAN society makes this more practically significant since social security is one of the primary contents in the structure of a socio-cultural community. Consequently, Vietnam can improve its understanding in cultural and social fields of ASEAN in general and social security system in particular, and then can propose initiatives to contribute to the success of the community.
This book is a valuable reference material for researchers, readers, and policy-makers in order to support research activities as well as becoming the scientific basis for proposing optimal policies to resolve social security issues in Vietnam in near future.
Nguyen Thu Trang
