An outsider is always an outsider: Migration, social policy and social exclusion in East Asia

The dynamics of social exclusion and inclusion of certain groups of citizens and migrant workers is a complex and multi-dimensional process, which is shaped by institutional frameworks as well as informal practices. While some of these frameworks are justified by economic rationality, migrants with low socio-economic background are often excluded from aspects of labour and social protection, therefore reinforcing hegemonic ideas about “insiderness” and “outsiderness”. This paper argues that how readily government-enforced policies embrace migrants is crucial to the reinforcement of social stratification. Specifically, the article examines the immigration, labour and social security policies aimed at low-skilled migrant workers in Seoul and Taiwan, low-skilled cross-border migrants in Hong Kong and rural to urban migrants in Beijing. It highlights how policies veer towards the exclusionary when targeted towards low-income migrant groups from Southeast and East Asia, which manifest racial discrimination against them. The accumulation effect of their disadvantaged status has a detrimental impact on both migrant workers' quality of life and cohesion of society as a whole. Copyright © 2013 City University of Hong Kong.