Development of the nonprofit sector in Hong Kong and Singapore: A comparison of two statist-corporatist regimes

Abstract

This article compares the development of the non-profit sector in two Asian city-states, namely Singapore and Hong Kong. Adapting the classification scheme of the ‘social origins’ theory, we argue that their non-profit regimes can be characterized as ‘statist-corporatist’, which is conceptually distinguishable from the ‘societal-corporatist’ regimes that are more commonly found in some European states. We will identify the factors shaping the historical formation of statist-corporatist non-profit regimes as well as the factors affecting their degree of ‘statism’. We will also examine how the degree of statism of the corporatist regimes may affect the development of civil society through limiting the capability of NPOs to negotiate their own sphere of autonomy vis-à-vis the state and in shaping civilities. Lastly, we will discuss how the recent trends of reform in the regulatory system and new state-led community building efforts have affected the development of these non-profit regimes.