Briefing | Asian welfare states

New cradles to graves

The welfare state is flowering in Asia. Will it free the continent from squalor? Or sink it in debt?

|DELHI, HONG KONG and JAKARTA

A CARTOON cat decorates the T-shirt worn by Agus Kurniawan, a two-year-old cradled in his mother’s lap. But the cat is hard to see, because young Agus cannot hold himself upright. His body is bowed by microcephaly, an undersized skull and brain, which plays havoc with his motor functions.

This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline "New cradles to graves"

Asia’s next revolution

From the September 8th 2012 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Briefing

America’s fiscal outlook is disastrous, but forgotten

On the campaign trail, both main candidates largely ignore the problem

America’s $61bn aid package buys Ukraine time

It must use it wisely


America is uniquely ill-suited to handle a falling population

Which is a worry, because much of it is already shrinking