Wednesday, March 27th, 2013 Blind Spots in the Welfare State: Lessons from the Global South

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The disparity between rich and poor continues to increase even as developing countries experience economic growth. At the same time, inherent structural inequality that exists within the welfare state creates a problem of invisibility for seasonal, migrant, and informal sector workers. To successfully address the needs of the most vulnerable populations, we must consider the unique challenges associated with poverty and “invisibility.”

Joseph Wong is Canada Research Chair and Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, where he is also the Director of the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs. In addition to dozens of journal articles and contributions to scholarly volumes, Professor Wong has published three books: Betting on Biotech: Innovation and the Limits of Asia’s Developmental State (Cornell University Press, 2011), Healthy Democracies: Welfare Politics In Taiwan and South Korea (Cornell University Press, 2004), and, with Edward Friedman, Political Transitions in Dominant Party Systems: Learning to Lose (Routledge, 2008). Along with Dilip Soman and Janice Stein, Wong is co-editor and contributor the forthcoming book, Innovating for the Global South: Towards a New Innovations Agenda. He has been a visiting researcher and fellow at Oxford, Harvard, and Seoul National University, among others. Wong was elected Senior Member of St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford in 2008, named Senior Fellow of the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada in 2011, and is a 2012 – 2013 recipient of the Faculty of Arts and Science Outstanding Teaching Award. Professor Wong’s current research focuses on innovation, poverty, and health in developing world settings.