Beyond convergence: regulating domestic employment in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Using an intuitionalism framework, this study explains the different responses in domestic employment regulation. Past research indicates policy design has played a significant role in regulating domestic employment. Drawing on secondary literature and policy documents, this study argues that employers’ needs, in forms of care policy, shapes different outcomes in each countries. This creates a vacuum in the legal status of domestic workers and places their employer–employee relationships into the category of individual contracts. After comparing the data we make several policy suggestions, aimed at planning and improving management practices for domestic workers.