American versus East Asian Norms and Labor Market Institutions 

Affecting Socioeconomic Inequality

• Speaker: Dr. Arthur Sakamoto (Professor, Acting Director of the Academy of Geography, Sociology and International Studies, and Chair of Department of Sociology, Hong Kong Baptist University)

• Moderator: Dr. Chi-Tsun Chiu (Associate Research Fellow, Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica)

• Time: 10:00-12:00 A.M., Monday, April 27, 2026

• Venue: 1F Conference Room, Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica

• Registration: https://forms.gle/7HaqV3VaXw5thUoB9

• Abstract: 

Labor market institutions play a central intermediary role between the level of household income inequality in a society and the underlying causal processes generating salary differences. We review research on social stratification and labor market institutions with a focus on typical East Asian practices versus common American perspectives about income inequalities. In contrast to American concerns about discrimination, equality of opportunity, and individualism, the understanding of labor market inequalities in East Asian societies is more influenced by a collectivist cultural tradition. Labor market institutions that are common in East Asia likely play an important role in reducing their level of household income inequality relative to the US where the Gini coefficient has continued to increase for decades and shows no signs of decreasing despite declining levels of discrimination.