家戶組成、社會福利支出年齡傾向與福利國家型態對青年貧窮的影響：東亞與西方福利國家的比較

Effects of Household Composition, Social Welfare Age Orientation and Welfare Regimes on Youth Poverty: Comparison of East Asian and Western Welfare States

青年貧窮文獻顯示一項矛盾趨勢：社會福利支出越高、福利政策越完整的國家，其青年貧窮率越高；而東亞國家的福利支出雖然較低，其青年貧窮風險卻低於西方工業化國家。上述的矛盾趨勢需要進一步的研究探討。本文使用Luxembourg Income Study（LIS）25國家戶收支調查資料，檢視影響青年貧窮矛盾趨勢的微觀與鉅觀因素。我們的實證結果顯示，家戶組成差異是造成高社會福利支出國家有高青年貧窮率的關鍵機制，一旦控制了家戶特質，東亞青年失去其經濟優勢，反而比北歐青年更可能陷入貧窮。這項發現呼應了儒家式福利體制的一項重要特色，亦即，家庭承擔了個人經濟福祉的責任。在此同時，雖然家戶組成強烈形塑高福利支出與高青年貧窮的趨勢，整體社會福利支出越高、社會支出越年齡中立，越能減低青年陷入貧窮的可能性。總結來說，本文有兩項重要貢獻。首先，本文從多層次的角度來探究青年貧窮趨勢，是極少數檢視社會支出的年齡傾向對青年貧窮影響的論文；其次，既有青年貧窮跨國研究幾乎只專注西方國家，我們將臺灣、日本、南韓加入分析，比較東亞與其他工業化國家青年的經濟福祉，本文指出臺灣是25個工業國家中社會支出最偏向高齡群體的國家，彌補了跨國文獻專注西方社會的不足。文末也對相關政策提出討論。

The paradox of countries with high social expenditures having high youth poverty levels is well documented. East Asian countries have relatively low social spending budgets, but their young adults are at lower poverty risk compared to their Western counterparts. Using data from the Luxembourg Income Study for 25 industrialized countries, we examined the effects of macro- and micro-level factors on young adult poverty risk. Household composition was identified as a key factor connecting high social expenditures and high youth poverty levels. When household characteristics are held constant, East Asian young adults are more likely to fall below the poverty line compared to young adults in Nordic countries, indicating household economy as an important Confucian welfare state safety net. Overall social expenditures and lower pro-elderly social spending correlated negatively with young adult poverty risk. Among the 25 countries, the Taiwanese welfare system is the most skewed in favor of older adults.