Journal of Asian Public Policy

Digitalization, Precarious Work, and Welfare State in Asia

Theme Overview

The rapid digitalization of work has profoundly transformed labor markets and social policies globally, with unique implications for Asia. The region's compressed economic development, institutional legacies, and distinct forms of precarious work shape these transformations. This special issue explores the intersection of digitalization, precarious employment, and welfare state responses in Asia, building upon theoretical frameworks such as Sophia Seung-yoon Lee's Melting Labour (2023) to analyze the dynamics of labor market transformation and its policy implications.

Digitalization has reshaped the nature of work, fostering new opportunities for flexible employment while also creating challenges for worker protections (Au-Yeung et al., 2025; Sun et al., 2024). The rise of remote work, gig and freelance labor, and technology-driven restructuring of industries has blurred the boundaries between formal and informal employment, waged labor and self-employment, and worker and contractor. While these changes offer certain benefits, such as greater accessibility to work for marginalized groups, they also deepen precarity by weakening employment stability and reducing access to traditional labor rights and benefits.

The literature on precarious work highlights how emerging forms of labor contribute to systemic vulnerabilities, including employment instability, income insecurity, and exclusion from social protections. Scholars like Standing (2011) and Kalleberg (2009) emphasize the multidimensional nature of precarity, arguing that these conditions are further exacerbated by rapid technological and economic transformations. In Asia, these impacts are compounded by the region’s institutional legacies of compressed development, where welfare states were built rapidly to facilitate economic growth but often remain limited in scope and coverage (Estevez-Abe, 2008; Hong et al., 2023; Lee, 2023).

East Asian welfare states, frequently characterized as "productive" or "developmental," have historically prioritized economic growth and social order over redistribution. While compresses welfare state institutions are established in place, this developmental approach often relied heavily on informal family networks and community structures to provide social security, leaving significant gaps in state-provided protections. Scholars like Peng and Wong (2010) and Kwon (2005) have documented the limitations of these systems in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations, including women, migrants, and low-skilled workers. The persistence of these gaps is increasingly untenable in the face of labor market transformations driven by digitalization.

The rise of platform-mediated work—such as e-commerce, delivery services, and domestic care—represents a particularly visible manifestation of digitalization's impact on labor markets. However, the influence of digitalization extends beyond platforms to traditional sectors, where technological advancements and automation are reshaping work processes and employment relationships. These transformations necessitate a re-evaluation of existing welfare state models to ensure they remain relevant and effective in the digital age.

This special issue critically examines how digitalization is reshaping labor markets and how welfare states in Asia are responding—or failing to respond—to these challenges. Contributions will analyze institutional gaps, assess the effectiveness of existing policies, and propose innovative solutions to support workers in an era of rapidly changing work dynamics. Key areas of focus include:

• Understanding the implications of digitalization on job quality, labor rights, and social inequality.
• Examining how welfare states in Asia are adapting to support workers in precarious and non-standard employment.
• Identifying vulnerable groups most affected by these transformations, such as women, migrants, and younger workers.
• Proposing pathways for social policy reform to address gaps in protection and ensure equitable outcomes.

By engaging with theoretical and empirical insights, this special issue seeks to advance the understanding of precarious work and welfare state adaptation in Asia. It encourages comparative analyses and country-specific studies to illuminate the diverse trajectories of labor market transformation in the region.

Objectives

• Explore Digitalization's Impact on Work: Examine how digitalization is reshaping labor markets in Asia, creating new forms of employment while exacerbating precarity and inequality.
• Analyze Changing Forms of Work: Investigate the emergence of non-standard employment relationships, including gig work, remote work, and technology-driven restructuring in traditional sectors, and their implications for workers’ rights and job security.
• Evaluate Welfare State Responses: Assess how welfare states in Asia are adapting—or failing to adapt—to the challenges posed by digitalization, focusing on the gaps in coverage and adequacy of social protections for precarious workers.
• Highlight Regional Specificities: Identify the unique features of labor market transformations and welfare state adaptations in Asia, emphasizing the role of institutional legacies and developmental priorities.
• Propose Social Policy Innovations: Develop actionable recommendations for reforming social policies to address the vulnerabilities of workers in a rapidly changing labor market, ensuring equitable and sustainable outcomes.
• Encourage Comparative Perspectives: Facilitate comparative analyses between Asia and other regions to highlight shared challenges and innovative solutions to precarious work and welfare reform.

Key Themes

Analysis of how digitalization is reshaping the nature of work across various sectors, including gig work, platform-mediated labor, and automation-driven restructuring in traditional industries.

• Changing Forms of Work and Precarity, examination of the rise in non-standard employment, including part-time, freelance, and dependent self-employment, and its implications for employment stability and income security.
• Analysis of how digitalization and globalization exacerbate precariousness among workers, particularly marginalized groups.
• Study of how digitalization interacts with gender, class, and migration to create new forms of social and economic inequality.
• Focus on the experiences of women, migrants, young workers, and other vulnerable groups navigating precarious labor markets.
• Welfare State Adaptation and Institutional Gaps, assessment of how Asian welfare states are responding to digitalization-driven changes in labor markets, with a focus on policy innovations and institutional inconsistencies.
• Discussion of how welfare systems can be restructured to provide comprehensive protections for workers in atypical and precarious employment.