• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.71-90
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• 2021

This paper examines the effects of COVID-19 on the working hours and wages by employment types of wage workers. Using the Economically Active Population Survey-Supplementary Survey by Employment Types(2017-2020), I found that due to COVID-19, non-regular workers reduced their working hours more than regular workers, shrinking their opportunities to generate wage income. During the same period, the working hours and wage gap between new regular and non-regular workers widened, this was largely in part-time and short-term workers. As the working conditions change based on the initial level, these results show that efforts to improve their(new and short term workers) working conditions can contribute to mitigating labor market inequality.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.31-62
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• 2018

Using matching and difference-in-differences estimation method, this study estimates causal effects of health shocks on employment and income of full-time workers aged 40-55. Acute hospital admissions lower significantly the employment probability and earnings. The changes in employment and earnings persist up to three years after the health shock. The economic impacts of health shocks vary by socioeconomic status and job characteristics among individuals. Irregular workers are more likely to leave their jobs after health shocks than regular workers. Among irregular workers, the probability of leaving labor market after health shock decreases with the size of the firm.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.33-61
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to analyze the disparity in on-the-job training between regular and non-regular workers and to compare the wage effects of on-the-job training. Using the Korean micro data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies(PIAAC) published by OECD, Propensity Score Method(PSM) is applied to overcome the endogeneity problem. The average treatment effect(ATT) on the training participation is analyzed, using non-regular workers as treatment group and regular workers as comparison group. Odds ratios of non-regular employees' training participation compared to regular employees shows 0.67 times after constructing matching sample and this means that non-regular workers are facing a disadvantageous training opportunity compared to regular workers. In order to estimate the wage effect of on-the-job training, the average treatment effect(ATT) of on-the-job training on average wages for regular workers and non-regular workers is estimated respectively. I find insignificant wage effect from on-the-job training among regular workers and significant positive effect on non-regular worker's wage from on-the-job training.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.119-139
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• 2011

Using a establishment-worker matched data, this paper estimates wage differentials between standard and non-standard workers. Unlike previous studies, we estimate a fixed-effect model for the tree-way error-components that control for both unobserved individual heterogeneities and unobserved firm heterogeneities. The estimation results show that standard workers earn 6.5~8.4% mire than non-standard workers. This wage premium is 30~40% of the wage differential estimated from the OLS model. The results implies that a large proportion of the wage differentials between standard and non standard workers can be explained by unobserved firm and individual characteristics.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.139-176
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• 2011

Non-regular workers came to the fore while working class formation was in retreat along with the democratic labor movement of regular workers. The formation of principal agents, however, is yet to occur. Then, why non-regular workers' struggles could not yield a consequence in that regard? What kind of factors are to determine the outcome of the struggles and how do they do it? It is the aim of this study to answer those questions. In contrast with regular workers' struggles, non-regular workers' struggles tend to break out in response to capitalist offensives, rely on atypical and, often, extreme measures of struggle rather than strike in the form of work stoppage, drag out for too long, and appeal for social solidarity outside when the solidarity of regular workers is not available. Non-regular workers' struggles tend to end up with failure rather than success, and with weakening rather than strengthening of their organizational strength. So as to overcome the tendency to fail, non-regular workers' struggles need regular workers' solidarity in addition to their own strong mobilization power, while social solidarity or positional power could substitute for regular workers' solidarity in some cases. So as to build up their organizational strength, non-regular workers' struggles should win victories in the struggles, while a victory could turn into a trap in the case of conversion. Both regular workers' solidarity and the internal integration of the struggles are two foremost important factors in achieving the victory of struggles and the building-up of organizational strength. Those who have got involved in struggles are from the best organized sector among all the non-regular workers. As they have gone through weakening of organizational strength, it becomes more difficult for non-regular workers to form principal agents. Without non-regular workers' struggles, however, the capitalist offensives must have carried the day. In that sense, non-regular workers' struggles did a role in at least detaining capitalist offensives, if not stopping them. The practical implication of non-regular workers' struggles is that, if non-regular workers redefine the ultimate goal of their struggles as the formation of their principal agents for working class formation, it would be a strategically rational choice to identify the strategic objective of struggles with the maintaining and strengthening of their organizational strength rather than the achievement of their immediate demands.

• Journal of Science and Technology Studies
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.29-61
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• 2016

This paper explains the one of the most problematic factor in the society that leads to social inequality - increase in non-regular work. Theoretically, this expansion of non-regular work can be explained by technologies that are designed to save the labor force, especially since corporations in Korea have strategies to replace the regular workers with temporary workers, to save money. OECD also noted that Korea's income inequality is pretty high in ranking when compared with the rest of the OECD members, and says that globalization and technological innovation are the factors of this problem. To refine the argument, this study also looks at relationship between development made in sciences - which can be stated as a proxy variable to look at the advances made in technology - and expansion of temporary work force by using VAR methodology. Based on the results of this analysis in the future temporary/regular workers ratio started with decline, then turn to rise. These temporary/regular workers ratio sustained growth prediction shows that the expansion of the temporary expansion contributes to instability and social inequality in the labor market and technological change are interrelated.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.39-81
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• 2018

This study focuses on whether non-standard workers are matched by voluntary contract with employers in the labor market and analyzes the factors of involuntary choice of non-standard employees that are diverse by firm size. For the analysis I consider non-standard employees as either voluntary or involuntary according to the push/pull theory based on labor mobility. The Economic Activity Census Added Survey data 2016 show that the proportion of involuntary non-standard employees is greater than voluntary ones as the firm size is smaller. As a result of the analysis, involuntary non-standard employees are not significantly discriminated from voluntary non-standard employees in large firms. However, in small and medium-sized firms and micro small-sized firms, workers are more likely to be involuntarily non-standard if they are older or less educated. In addition, they are more likely to be employed involuntarily in micro small-sized firms than in small and medium-sized firms. Therefore, we should take into account the mismatching problems of compensation, specialty, and career in order to establish policies on non-standard workers. In addition to the financial support for small and medium-sized and micro small-sized firms, it is necessary to provide workers with job information that matches their job skills and career experiences.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.157-196
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• 2018

This study analyzes non-standard workers' attitudes and behaviors towards standard workers' strikes using the case of a joint strike held by journalists at KBS and MBC in 2012. Tracing the process since 2008 by which a conservative government has tried to control the press and regular journalists have collectively resisted against it, we put our analytical focus on two major groups of freelance broadcast professionals: independent producers and writers in current affairs. Specifically, we examine 1) how they perceived and responded to a series of regular journalists' struggle to protect journalistic value, 2) how such perception of and response to regular journalists could be developed, and 3) how (de)solidarity could form and then deepened between freelance and regular journalists in the 2012 Media Strike. Our findings show that the ways in which regular journalists had controlled freelance journalists at work affected the relationship between class-based and occupation-based rationality freelance journalists held in their minds. Independent producers, who had developed a strong class-based rationality in response to the coercive input-output control, showed cynicism about regular journalists' strike pointing out their hypocrisy and contradiction. In contrast, freelance writers accommodated and joined the strike by regular workers in the spirit of solidarity based on occupational rationality which had developed from normative, process control. Our paper ends with theoretical and practical implications.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.53-77
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• 2011

The last decade has witnessed a surge of research interest in differences between regular and irregular workers in employment forms. Recent studies on estimating wage differentials between the two types of workers in employment forms have typically used the linear regression analysis. Our study utilizes a new methodology to estimate wage differentials between the two types of workers: data matching. Our method can perform better than the ordinary regression analysis because it carefully addresses the selection bias problem. Our results indicate that there is no significant difference in wage between regular and irregular workers.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.125-161
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• 2018

This article aims to investigate the impact of Korean employment protection legislation that has implemented since 2007 on eliminating discrimination on non-regular worker's wage and social security. It is used the panel Tobit model reflecting the variation of implementation time according to the size of establishments. Although the employment protection laws for non-regular workers have implemented, the wage gap and discrimination in social security for non-regular workers have continued. Of course, the discrepancies on wage and social security were founded not only between regular and non-regular workers but also within non-regular workers. For reducing the discriminations, this study proposes to restrict the reason for justifying discrimination, and the introduction of a new approach to accessing the discrimination and complimentary credit system. Besides, this study suggests to actively review the strengthening of regulations on the use of non-regular workers.