The East Asia crisis of 1997-98 created enormous challenges for the region's social sectors and, in the wake of that crisis, the European and East Asian governments brought together hundreds of experts over a two-year period to share knowledge and generate new ideas about social policy. One of the important results of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) was this collection of essays on a wide range of welfare issues - from social security reform to labour market policy, cross-border migration to gender relations, health care policy to unemployment - issues that remain the most pressing in Europe and Asia today. This volume includes case studies which draw on both Asian and European experiences. These case studies focus especially on those insights and ideas that have practical relevance for East Asia and other developing regions.