It has been generally acknowledged that the development of East Asian social policy is driven by the imperatives of economic growth and political legitimization of authoritarian regimes. Drawing on the political economy perspective, this article seeks to account for the development of social security in Macao during the period 1998–2008. It has been found that the making of the social security policy over this period was marked by three regulatory roles of social policy with respect to promotion of economic development and restoration of the government's legitimacy: legitimization, reproduction and disciplinization. These regulatory roles were determined by the interplay of contingent political and economic forces at different historical moments. The paper provides empirical support for the political-economic account of East Asian social policy and, in turn, adds to the understanding of the nature of social policy in the region.

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