• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.79-108
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• 2017

Using data sets from the Korean Labour and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) for the period 2003-2015, this study shows that wages of nonunion workers are positively related to the percentage of unionized workers in the same geographic region. A 10 percentage point increase in a region's union density is associated with a 4.9 percent increase in the region's average wage of nonunion workers. It is also shown that this positive spillover effect is observed for various subgroups of nonunion workers, including women, youth, low-educated workers, small firm employees, and those employed under nonstandard work arrangements. In contrast, the average wage of union workers is found to respond insignificantly to changes in a region's union density.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.23-45
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• 2002

The main findings from the analysis of the micro-determinants of joining union are : Firstly, joining union is mainly determined by union reach (supply-side) rather than by union propensity (demand-side). Secondly, union existence is closely correlated with firm size. Thirdly, job satifaction is not statistically significant with joining union, though it is significant with non-union workers' propensity to join union. Finally, trade union movement is required to extend union reach and emphasize institutional and behavioral factors for increasing union density.

• The Journal of Information Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.1-14
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• 1998

This paper examines the relationship between unionism and wage dispersion in Korea. This paper presents a model of in which unions, wage, and wage dispersion are simultaneously determined. This paper examine not only the effect of unions on wage dispersion, but also the effect of wage dispersion on the level of unionism. The estimated equalizing effects of unions on within-industry wage dispersion are found to be significant. By increasing 1% in the organized rate of trade unions, Wage dispersion is reduced about 0.05%∼0.11%. But the effect of wage dispersion on the level of unionism is not found.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.117-143
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• 2006

This paper illuminates the patterns of growth and declines in sizes of union membership in metal, chemical, financial, and auto transport sectors in three distinct periods during the last four decades from 1963 to 2003. This paper also calculates union densities in auto assembly, auto supply, and shipbuilding industries of the metal sector, cement, petroleum refining, and pharmaceutical industries of the chemical sector, private banking industry of the financial sector, and city bus industry of the auto transport sector. Such diversities in both sizes of union membership and union densities among sectors and industries turned out to be associated with attitudes and choices of employers and unions in interaction with sector- and industry-specific economic (growth stage and path), institutional (degrees of government intervention), and social (demographic features of employees and prevailing sizes of firms) environment. Such finding shows that theoretical reasonings on sizes of union membership and union densities across sectors and industries in advanced nations are also relevantly useful to analyze the Korean case.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.67-92
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• 2015

This paper empirically analyses the effect of labor union on firm's profit rate in Korea. For this purpose a panel data set has been constructed for the period of 1990-2009 using "TS2000", and the data set has been subdivided into two: one is the 'non-variant group' in which firm's union status has not changed, and the other is 'variant group' in which firm's union status has changed from non-union to union during the sample period. It has been found that for 'non-variant group' there is no significant union effect on profit rate. However, for 'variant group' the presence of union has been found to decrease firm' profit rate in terms of return on equity.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.113-150
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• 2006

This study examines how labor unions change in the 21st centry and what is needed for successful transformation of Korean labor union. The study identifies four major driving forces of change in union's role. They are changes in industrial and occupational structures, utilization of information technology, labor substitution, and changing attitude of workers. The effects are decrease in union membership, shrinking coverage of bargaining, weakening voice mechanism, and representation. Thus, labor unions in the 21st centry transform themselves into service union, individual representation system, and worker participation model. Korean labor union, with its current reputation of militant unionism, needs to transform into above mentioned model. Two keys for the change are market competition and family unionism.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.68 no.3
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• pp.51-71
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to clarify macro causes influencing on the diversity of single-mother households poverty among OECD Countries including Korea. This study carried out pooled time series cross-section analysis applying unbalanced panel design on the period from 1981 to 2012. There is marked diversity on single-mother households poverty. GDP per capita does not contributes to reduce poverty, and female employment rate and % population 0-14 exacerbate poverty. Several factors contribute on poverty reduction including social spending, child cash spending, union density, employment protection on regular workers, proportional representation system, cumulative left cabinet, cumulative women seat. In Korea, it needs to overcome the limit of anti-poverty strategy mainly based on economic growth and labor market flexibility. And it needs to enlarge universal welfare institutions, child benefits, work-family reconciliation policy, and to design adjusted labor market institutions including union density and employment protection, to introduce consensus political model including proportional representation system to enhance left power and women's representation.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.1-34
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• 2013

Labor share of income in Korea has fallen from 90% in 1996 to 79% in 2010. This paper explores the factors driving the movements in the labor share of income based on a panel dataset containing 19 years of data on 18 Korean manufacturing industries. The effects of technical progress, globalization and the bargaining power of labor and capital on the labor share of income are tested for the period of 1991-2009. The main empirical results are as follows. (1) Capital-aug menting technical prog ress measured by capital-labor ratio and R&D intensity has a negative effect on the labor share. (2) Market openness measured by the value of export and import as a ratio to value-added production is found to have a positive impact. (3) Globalization of production measured by inward-FDI and outward-FDI as a ratio to total domestic fixed capital is found to have a negative impact on the labor share. (4) Union density is found to have had a statistically significant effect in 1991-1998. This finding is consistent with the efficient bargain model in which firms and workers bargain over both wages and employment. But union density is insignificant in 2000-2009. This implies that since the financial crisis in 1997, the bargaining institution in Korea has been approaching the right-to-manage model in which firms and unions bargain over wages and then firms set employment unilaterally. (5) Variables for domestic financialization measured by dividend-income ratio and financial-fixed assets ratio have an insignificant effect on labor share.

• 사회경제평론
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.239-270
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• 2018

This study empirically analyzed the labor income share of primary and subcontractors. The results are as follows. First, panel regression analysis showed that the variables of transaction concentration, outsourcing cost, capital intensity, and market share had a significant negative effect, while union organization rate and R & D investment had positive effects. In particular, the R & D variable had a negative effect on the share of labor income in the year of investment (t), but had a positive impact on the long-term (t-1, t-2). Second, the share of labor income during the last 11 years (2006~2016) was higher in subcontractors with lower wage levels. This analysis implies that the wage inequality between the primary and subcontracting enterprises can not be eliminated without improving the solvency of subcontractors.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.61-80
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• 2000

Using raw data of the 'Family income and expenditure survey,' we find that the earning distribution worsened in Korea after the financial crisis; the gap between ninetieth and tenth percentile grew larger after the crisis more than before. Such a phenomenon is apparent within narrowly defined education and labor market experience variables. We found that the increase in earning inequality came from the rapidly increasing return to the components of skill other than the schooling and experience, which is caused by the increasing demand of skill after the crisis. Therefore, we can interpret the growing demand for skill is an important factor leading the increase in the earning inequality after the Crisis. And then, we think that the reason for the increasing demand for skill after the crisis can be found in the changes of the technology, the organizational and personnel practice, the globalization, and the labor market. We can derive policy implications from this : To narrow the inequality we must invest the industrial demand-oriented education.