Page 10 - IJPS-11-4

International Journal of
Population Studies A suggestion for future research

feminist political economy perspectives of care in social methods used. Age relations, intergenerational dynamics,
reproduction concepts (e.g., Katz, 2018; Ng, 2023; and eldercare issues encompass a wide swathe of social
Raghuram, 2012) that complicate the standard metrics of actors and institutions that must be understood from
“value.” macro to micro scales. For instance, social processes that
reproduce ageist attitudes and care relations are observed
4. Parting thoughts in numerous settings ranging from formal skills training

I do not elaborate in detail on the social and cultural policy courses (e.g., Maulod & Lu, 2020) to informal, privatized
context of family planning and care labor migration in domains of family interactions or grounded storytelling
Singapore and Taiwan in East Asia, which I do elsewhere (Mehta & Leng, 2017; Munkejord et al., 2021). This
(Ng, 2022; 2023). Still, it is important to note that both perspective article is of the view that while the widespread
populations, although increasingly expressing and showing prevalence of FDWs in family planning and care labor
pluralistic beliefs and values, by and large adhere to a migration policy may be particularly acute in East Asia,
preference for live-in (at-home) care. Recent Pew Research beyond institutional debates of welfare policy across East
Center’s findings suggest that Taiwan is “one of the most and West, social phenomena of ageism tied to child-centric
religiously diverse places in the world, second only to productivity is a common problem in modernity that
Singapore” (Miner, 2024). Slightly above one-quarter of analysts could devote more research attention to (Katz,
Singaporeans (26%) and Taiwanese (28%), adults identify 2018; Teo, 2023). Ultimately, I see this brief contribution
as Buddhist, reflecting a Chinese majority and Chinese as participating in ongoing efforts to advocate for equitable
dominant population, respectively (Miner, 2023; 2024). and just care outcomes for people of all ages.
Crucially, this practice of filial piety has less to do with Acknowledgments
religious composition or any reported affiliation with
Confucian beliefs but rather the historically marketized None.
trajectory of eldercare management (Chung et al., 2021;
Peng, 2018). Namely, the policy decision to integrate Funding
family planning with labor migration to boost national None.
income triggered an irreversible transition for the social
role of FDWs: from economic strategy to welfare pillar Conflict of interest
(Chiu & Yen, 2024; Peng, 2018; Rozario & Hong, 2019; The author declares no conflicts of interest.
Teo, 2023). As population and social welfare analysts note,
this move was most intense in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Author contributions
Taiwan compared to Japan and South Korea where publicly
managed LTC facilities have stronger foundations (Yeh, This is a single-authored article.
2022).
Ethics approval and consent to participate
The unfolding trends of child-centric care organizations
(e.g., competitive parenting culture in Göransson et al., The data used in this paper are part of the author’s
doctoral research project, “Eldercare’s devaluation in the
2022; Katz, 2018; Teo, 2023) coexisting with emerging
ageism in social life locally (e.g., Maulod & Lu, 2019; Ng, developmental state enterprise: Singapore and Taiwan.” It
2023) and internationally (e.g., Herron et al., 2021) must has passed the University of Victoria’s Human Research
be observed in each localized context. People’s gravitation Ethics Board approval and certification process (ethics
to child-centric futures in allocating care arrangements is protocol number 20 – 0518). With regard to human
not intrinsic to Confucian cultural teachings or any given subjects, the fieldwork involved recording semi-structured
social framework, but rather a broader phenomenon interviews with both written and verbal consent for usage
arising from modernity as a global social problem. In in academic publications. Consent forms were provided to
closing, I reiterate the urgency for population researchers and approved by the ethics committee before the quoted
as well as interested social welfare policy analysts more interviews.
broadly – especially those who study eldercare and Consent for publication
migrant care work – to complicate the cultural factors
(often treated as “variables”) of filial piety in East Asia as Participant consented on the publication of their data.
well as consider wider trends of child-centric bias in care Availability of data
organization. Although my contributions are grounded in a
qualitative training background, I do not wish to imply any The data used in the study can be found in the author’s
hierarchy or ranking of methodological approaches and doctoral dissertation, which was defended on June 10,

Volume 11 Issue 4 (2025) 4 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.4971