Economic Stress, Human Capital, and Families in Asia ― Research and Policy Challenges

This book presents recent findings about the consequences and policy implications of economic stress for human capital development and family well-being in Asia. The scope of the chapters goes beyond the impact of current financial crisis to include the effect of economic deprivation families in Asia experience as a result of job loss, low-wage employment, and catastrophic natural calamities. The studies show how macro-level economic stress can filter down through households to affect individuals’ economic and socio-psychological well-being. The chapters reveal a wide spectrum of economic stresses experienced by families in Asia that is linked to poor human capital development, emotional distress, health problems, changing fertility patterns, more frequent geographic movement, and less supportive parenting behavior. The elderly, women, children, low-skilled workers are particularly vulnerable. The economic shocks in the past several decades have exposed the vulnerability of the family institution and the weaknesses in this region’s social protection system that can lead to detrimental long-term effects on human capital development. This book is relevant for researchers and students in fields such as Family Studies, Globalization, Development, Social Problems, Social Stratification, Social Inequalities, Poverty and Welfare, Education, and Social Policies.

Professor Yeung is a professor at the Department of Sociology and the Research Leader of the Changing Family in Asia cluster in the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Marriage and Family, and Journal of Family Issues and serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Her research interests include China’s family and demographic transition, intergenerational studies, family and children, inequality, and education. Professor Yeung was a co-principal investigator of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, one of the longest running social science panel surveys. She also served on the committees of the Child Development journal and numerous other journals and scientific review committees. Prof Yeung has received numerous awards, including those from the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and National Institute on Aging. Her most recent work includes several volumes on economic stress and Asian families, Asian fatherhood, transition to adulthood in Asia, and care in Asia. She is also working on issues related to migration and children’s well-being, and racial achievement gap.