Abstract

With a rapidly aging population, caring for the fragile elderly has become an increasing social problem that requires collective intervention. The long-term care insurance (LTCI) system is an institutional arrangement used in many other countries, and which has been nationally piloted in China since 2016. Since its introduction, the system has changed the non-institutionalized framework of traditional elderly care services, and especially reshaped the relationship between the government, the market, the society, and families. This study analyses the changes experienced by different welfare participants throughout the process of welfare mix in Qingdao city, by using a conceptual framework developed from welfare mixed theory and a social welfare analysis from the perspective of institutional historicism. This study further explains the characteristics and influencing factors of welfare mixes based on document reviews, secondary data analysis and in-depth interviews. This study observes an increase in the role of local government in welfare provision under the trend of socialization. The city government in China has adopted “softer governance” to transform the role of participants, which combines market elements, managerialism, and network-based governance. 

Biography of speaker

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