• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.117-138
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• 2004

The purpose of this article is to show a model on enhancing labor market flexibility and to compare labor market flexibility, considering that the model on labor market flexibility, universally acceptable, are not found. The writer classified the scope of labor market flexibility into three parts such as indirect adjustment, direct adjustment and policy adjustment. The writer further classified the contents of labor market flexibility into eleven sub-parts. This kind of classification regarding labor market flexibility is unique and comprehensive. Based on this classification, the writer measured the degree of labor market flexibility of four countries such as USA, Japan, Germany, and Korea. According to the results, the ranks of labor market flexibility are USA, Japan, Korea, Germany.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.23-58
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• 2008

본 연구는 한국노동연구원에서 실시한 "일과 가족 양립 지원제도 운영실태조사" 원자료를 활용하여 우리나라 기업의 유연근로제도에 대한 수용성 정도를 실증분석한 것이다. 유연근로제도를 포함한 가족친화 경영의 기업수용성은 출산과 양육친화단계에서는 높지만, 가족친화적 경영수준으로는 확장되지 않고 있음을 발견할 수 있었다. 기존의 연구와 달리 기업 특성을 성(gender)과 시장(market) 가치에 따라 구분하여 유연근로제도의 수용성이 어떤 영역에서 높게 나타나는지를 분석한 결과 여성친화적-고시장성 기업일수록 보다 높은 수용성을 가지는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 다변량분석을 활용하여 유연근로제도에 대한 기업의 수용성 결정요인을 도출하였는데 여기에서는 비정규직 활용과 유연근로제도가 대체관계에 있는 것으로 분석되었다. 따라서 현재 우리나라 노동시장에서 큰 이슈가 되고 있는 비정규직의 무분별한 활용과 증가를 억제할 수 있는 대안 중의 하나로 유연근로제도를 활성화하는 방안을 제안할 수 있으며, 이는 기업의 효율적인 인력운영과 함께 일자리의 질도 제고시킬 수 있어 기업과 근로자가 모두 윈윈(win-win)하는 전략이 될 수 있음을 시사한다고 하겠다.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.129-159
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• 2018

The foremost aim of the paper is to evaluate the flexibility and stability of the Korean labor market through a cross-country comparison with OECD countries. Evaluating by the OECD Employment Protection Legislation Index, the flexibility of permanent job layoff in Korea is close to the average of OECD countries. Employment of temporary workers appears to be relatively flexible allowing for effective indicators such as the proportion of temporary workers among paid employees. As regards security, the levels of job security, income security and combination security are all far below the OECD average. A panel data analysis of OECD countries reveals that labor productivity increases as regulations on permanent job layoff become looser and regulations on temporary employment become more rigorous.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.25-46
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• 2010

The outstanding performance of some nations in Central and Northern Europe such as Denmark and the Netherlands in the labor market is much indebted to their policy to help labor flexicurity. In this study, the possibility of replicating the Dutch or Danish performance in the labor market is explored in case of adopting such policy in the 22 OECD countries. If implementing the flexicurity policy in the 22 member countries of the OECD leads to strong performance in the labor market, this policy can be globally shared as universal labor policy to provide a win-win situation among the labor, management and the authorities on the matter, paving the way for replacing the Anglo-Saxon policy characterized by high flexibility and low security, or the European alternative with a lower level of flexibility and a higher level of security. According to findings from our research, flexicurity policy can not produce any tangible accomplishments in the labor market by only itself. Therefore, we may safely reach the conclusion that flexicurity policy has a limited positive influence on the labor market of some northern or central European countries. Given the striking difference in inherent conditions between such European countries and OECD countries, it is not sensible for OECD nations to adopt labor policy in the direction of flexicurity.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.475-509
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• 2011

Taking 195 Korean businesses and sorting them out according to the unit types, this study looks into how flexibility strategy in labor market, which consists of numerical flexibility and functional flexibility, takes effect on the organization's outcome variable, which in turn consists of productivity, labor-management cooperation, and job security. In addition, the present study analyzes the role of labor union's moderating effect on the relationship among labor market flexibility, labor-management cooperation, and job security. It is found out as a result that numerical flexibility has no meaningful relation with productivity, labor-management cooperation, and job security, while functional flexibility has a considerably positive relation with them. This result confirms the importance of functional flexibility of business strategy in labor market. The West has continuously insisted the importance of functional flexibility, pointing out problems of numerical flexibility. On the other hand, considering that this study has confirmed functional flexibility's meaningful relation, while it has not found out numerical flexibility's negative relation, it is necessary to study further on the relationship between these two kinds of flexibility. The result of analysis on the role of union power's moderating effect confirms only the union power's interaction effect in the relation between numerical flexibility and labor-management cooperation. The possibility of union's opportunistic behavior can be detected in this result.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.1-47
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• 2014

Longitudinal analysis of individual wage data received from the Korea Labor and Income Panel Survey (KLIPS) for the 1998-2012 period reveals that nominal wage reductions are prevailing among job stayers. It is also found that the probability of nominal wage cut is higher in the period of lower inflation or higher unemployment, and affected by various individual or group characteristics. Additional analysis of two establishment-based average wage series and the KLIPS shows that real wages are substantially procyclical, which is attributed to the strong procyclicality of nominal wages rather than countercyclicality of inflation. Current findings defy wage-rigidity-based explanations of unemployment fluctuations or models that predict wage rigidity, inlcluding segmented labor market hypotheses.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.365-397
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• 1997

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.261-293
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• 2013

Sweden invited immigrant workers, mainly from Nordic countries and West European countries until the 1960s. But since the 1970s refugees and their family members have become the largest group of immigrants. As the composition of immigrants has changed significantly, and the labor market conditions have been aggravated, immigrants have had much difficulty in finding jobs. This has aroused policy debates concerning the reason why the immigrants are not well integrated into the labor market and how to solve the problem. While there is a broad consensus on micro reform policy alternatives, there are significant opinion gaps concerning major issues such as labor market flexibilization and immigration restrictions. It would seems that the poor results of immigrants' labor market integration may increase the pressure for labor market flexibilization and also bring about significant changes to the Swedish welfare state model designed on the premise of full employment.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.325-350
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• 2011

This article examines part-time work in the UK in terms of its characteristics and institutional contexts. Part-time jobs developed early due to the UK's liberal market institution and low level of public support for female employment. A large proportion of the employed women (about 40 percent) work part-time. Part-time work has been largely for married women. The expansion of part-time work in the UK was primarily market-driven and led by employers. Married women have worked part-time work primarily to accommodate their family responsibilities. There have been significant changes in labor market regulation in the UK since 1997. The Labor government legislated the Part-time Workers Regluations in 2000 to protect part-time workers. The government has also changed and newly implemented various laws and policies for work-life balance. There has been a real progress in improving the quality of part-time work overall. Nevertheless, we have not seen qualitatively different results in terms of female employment patterns and the qualify of part-time work so far. It has been largely constrained by the government's liberal orienation and voluntarism of labor relations in the UK.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.83-112
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• 1998

The unemployment rate in Korea increased sharply since the deep economic depression. The rapid increase of unemployment rate is attributed, in part, to economic shock, but more basically to the structural problem of labor market. Moreover over 2-3 years later, the labor market perspective looks dismal. To overcome the labor market crisis, the fundamental reforms aimed at improving the labor market function is required. Thus the focus of policy should shift from reducing unemployment to increasing employment.