The dualist approach to social security in developing countries: Perspectives from China and South Africa

The article examines, mainly in legal terms, formal and informal social security arrangements in the People's Republic of China and South Africa with particular reference to old-age provision. This contribution sheds light on the need for both countries to improve their social security systems. Yet this cannot be achieved solely on the basis of models and paradigms of the developed states, but involves their adaptation to the cultural and legal particularities given in each case. One approach could be to link traditional, informal social protection arrangements with formal social security systems stemming from the developed world, or to enable them to complement each other Considerations of this kind thwart the traditional view that every country's social protection arrangements ultimately evolve from traditional to modern, formal systems.