• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.1-34
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• 2008

This study estimates what fraction of the rise in household income inequality in Korean between 1996 and 2000 is accounted for by the change in each of the household income components, such as wages, employment, hours of work of household heads and spouses, household structure, and other incomes. The increased disparities of household heads' wages and labor supply explain, respectively, 70% and 34% of the rise in the difference in incomes between the top 10% and bottom 10% households. Changing labor supply of spouses, in contrast, was a strong countervailing force that diminished the measure of household income inequality by 21%.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.23-51
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• 2015

This paper estimates the effect of household size and its changes on income inequality. Household formation is an important inequality-reducing mechanism through income pooling and collective consumption. The increase in small households, reflecting lower fertility rate and the increase in both nuclear and old families, has weakened the inequality-reducing effect of household formation. In contrast, additional workers in households and their income have strengthened the inequality-reducing effect of household formation. Given the increasing trend of old families, these results suggest for a balanced policy package that promotes employment and does not discourage co-habitation in order to maintain the inequality-reducing effect of household formation.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.31-39
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• 2015

This paper examines trends of the income inequality index and the income quintile share ratios, using the Household Survey released by Statistics Korea. We discuss their respective effects on total income inequality and the income disparity, as a contribution concept defined in this paper for 1990-2014 periods. Main findings are as follows. First, the contribution of 2-person families to total inequality with the current income or the disposable income becomes bigger, and growth rates have been above 10% since 2003. Second, the contribution of 1-person families to income inequality is greater than that of 2-person families. Policy implication is such that the government had better investigate the 1 or 2 person families in-depth to set up the policy measures for weakening the income inequality.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.117-140
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• 1988

본(本) 연구(硏究)에서는 1984년 한 해의 "도시가계연보(都市家計年報)"(전산(電算)테이프자료(資料))를 이용해 도시가구(都市家口) 계층간(階層間) 및 계층내(階層內)의 소득(所得) 및 소비(消費) 후생불평등도(厚生不平等度)를 추정하였으며 그 요인(要因)을 근로소득(勤勞所得)의 측면(側面)에서나 찾아보았다. 본(本) 연구(硏究)의 주요실증분석(主要實證分析) 결과(結果)는 다음과 같다. (1)도시가구(都市家口)의 불평등(不平等)을 크게 좌우(左右)하는 것은 재산소득(財産所得) 유무(有無)이며 (2)근로소득(勤勞所得)의 불평등(不平等)은 주로 학력간(學歷間) 임금격차(賃金格差)에서 비롯되고 있으며 (3)재산소득(財産所得)의 불평등(不平等)은 자본이득(資本利得)(capital gain)을 좌우(左右)하는 일반물가수준(一般物價水準)의 불안정(不安定)에서 비롯되고 있다. 따라서 불평등(不平等)의 개선(改善)을 위해서는 무엇보다도 먼저 물가수준(物價水準)의 안정(安定)이 최우선 조건이며 이와 더불어 학력간(學歷間) 임금격차(賃金格差)를 완화(緩和)시키는 노력도 병행되어야 할 것으로 보인다.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.97-128
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• 2013

This paper analyzes the changing factors of income inequality by approaches to income sources focusing on the effect of husband-wife labor income relation and employment ratio change on income inequality. The level of contribution of income source to income inequality showed that the inequality of labor income between husband and wife(especially the husband's income) takes great importance. Also, the covariance of labor income of husband and wife showed growing trend and changed toward the same direction. As a result of the decomposition of the labor income covariance, it was found that the change in husband-wife employment ratio explained the covariance change better than the change in labor income inequality.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.1-44
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• 2014

This paper investigates the effect of household formation on the mapping from wage inequality to income inequality, which usually is smaller than the former. Added workers, income pooling among household members, and shared consumption are the factors that make income distribution less inequal than wage distribution, and the effect of income pooling appears to be the greatest. This suggests than the increase in nuclear families and the resulting increase of old families have a potential effect of worsening income inequality at the absence of sufficient private income transfers among the two households. A simple counter-factual estimate indicates that income pooling among the children's and parents' households can efficiently and sizeably reduce income inequality.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.49-57
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• 2018

This study aims to identify the inequalities and characteristics of health care expenditure of the elderly and non-elderly households by income level. As a result, health care expenditure of elderly households was statistically significantly higher than that of non-elderly households. As a result of calculating the concentration index of health care expenditure by income level, inequality was higher in order of non-elderly households, elderly households, and total households. In order to confirm the effect of health expenditure on household income inequality, we calculated the concentration index of income excluding total health care expenditure from total income. As a result, inequality was higher in order of elderly households, whole households, and non-elderly households. There was not much difference in inequality of health care expenditure among elderly households and non-elderly households. And, the health care expenditure of elderly households was much higher than that of non-elderly households. Also, inequality of health care expenditure by income group was serious. There should be no cases where the medical care support policy for elderly households can not use necessary medical services.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.64 no.4
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• pp.163-188
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• 2012

This study examines recent trends in income inequality among the elderly in Korea. Aggregate income inequality trends are explained by examining evidence from inequality index decomposition by population subgroup and by income source. Data come from Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(KLIPS). The results are as follows. First, elderly income inequality increased from 1999 to 2002, and then decreased until 2008. Second, household composition changes appear to have disequalizing influence. The proportion of elderly people who are economically dependent on non-elderly family member or living with adult children has declined. Equalizing influence of private transfers also decreased between 2002 and 2008. These results indicate that the redistributive role of family has weakened over time. Third, the improvement of education level and changing occupational structure among the elderly household head contributed to increase in elderly income inequality. Fourth, earning's factor share has declined steadily, and the diminishing role of earnings provides equalizing influence on elderly income inequality from 2002 to 2008. Fifth, the impact of recent expansion of social insurance has changed over time. Inequality contribution of social insurance income increased from 1999 to 2002, and then decreased from 2002 to 2008.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.331-341
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• 2019

The purpose of this analysis is to examine the effects of health expenditure on income inequality on household income after the financial crisis by using the household income survey form 1996 to 2016. The main results are as follows. First, after the financial crisis, the gross income inequality of households has been changing steadily, though there has been a slight change in each year. Second, high-income earners spend more on health care expenditure by income level. Therefore, unequal levels are maintained. Third, the Gini coefficient of income excluding health care expenditure was calculated. The results of the analysis are larger than the Gini coefficient of total income. Income inequality is intensified by the expenditure of health care expenditure of households. The inequality of household income due to health care expenditure has been increasing steadily since the financial crisis. Efforts such as strengthening the protection of health insurance have been continuously carried out for the purpose of reducing the burden of the national medical expenses. However, it does not contribute to resolving income inequality. In the future, it will be necessary to provide a more selective medical support system to reduce the medical expenditure of the low income class.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.25-58
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• 2015

This paper compares income and consumption inequalities in Korea and applies the permanent income hypothesis to interpret the linkage between the two inequalities. Income inequality has been increasing since 1990 while consumption inequality had been decreasing until the early 2000s when the two inequalities started to co-move. Permanent income hypothesis explains reasonably well the consumption pattern in the recent period, which reflects the increased access to asset markets by the Korean households. Consequently, the co-movement of income and consumption inequalities in the recent period implies that inequality in permanent income components are fluctuating.