• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.166-181
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• 2020

This paper attempts to compare and analyze the intensity, trend, and regional gap of income inequality, capitalizing upon the Age-Period-Cohort model which considers age, time and cohort effects, with the 1998-2018 Korea Labor Panel (KLIPS) survey data for respondents living in the Capital and Non-Capital Regions. The main analysis results are as follows. First, in the case of both cohort and age effects, those in their 50~60s, including the so-called baby boomers and '386 generation' living in the Capital Region, have relatively lower income inequality effect compared to that of other age groups and cohorts in the Non-Capital Region. Second, the micro-individual characteristics cannot be ignored to account for a regional gap in income inequality, but rather the effects of structural and institutional omitted variables and the social discrimination effects of individual characteristics variables are more significant in explaining it. Overall, intra-and inter-cohort income inequalities appear to overlap.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.12
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• pp.494-502
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• 2017

This study examines how the Netherlands and Denmark lowered the increase in income inequality, at a period in time when income inequality in the world was deepening. This study investigates the level and trend of income inequality in the Netherlands and Denmark compared to those in Korea, the United States, Germany and Sweden. Using the method of the decomposition of changes in income inequality, this study identifies which factors are associated with the changes in inequality in these countries. It also explores which labor market policies mitigated inequality in these two countries. One of the major reasons for the reduction in earned income inequality in the Netherlands is the increased participation of women in economic activity through the increase in voluntary part-time working. In particular, the policies designed to promote equal treatment between full-time and non-regular workers contributed to the active participation of women in part-time work. Using active labor market policies, Denmark improved the proficiency of low skilled and low-wage workers, thereby alleviating the wage gap between high-income and low-income workers. Based on the experiences of the Netherlands and Denmark, this study discusses policy directions to mitigate income inequality in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.345-366
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• 2012

This study analyze Family gaps(the wage gap between mothers and non-mothers) across the wages distribution in Korea using 2008 Korean Labor and Income Panel Study. Analysis models include Heckman's two stage estimation to control women's labor participation selection and Quantile regression method to examine the effects of children at different points of the wage distribution. The result indicates that first, comparing non-mothers, mothers with one child suffer statistically significant hourly wage losses at 25th, 50th, and 75th distribution, however not significant effects are found at lowest(10th) and highest(90th) distribution. Second, comparing non-mothers, mothers with two more children suffer statistically significant hourly wage losses at all distribution. Family gap differs across the wage distribution and highest family gaps are found at 25th distribution. With these results, the author suggests universal family policies to support mothers' labor participation and the reconciliation of work and family.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.237-247
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• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of social security benefits to poverty alleviation. To this end, this study analyzed the poverty alleviation effect of public pension, basic pension, child-rearing allowance, disability allowance, basic living security subsidy, EITC, and other government subsidies using 2019 Household Financial Welfare Survey. The analysis results are as follows. First, social security benefits lowered the poverty rate by 6.8%p. Second, in terms of the poverty gap reduction effect, the public pension for the elderly male households, the basic pension for the elderly female householder, and the basic guarantee for the working female householder contributed the most. Finally, in terms of poverty alleviation efficiency, about 33% of social security benefits contribute to narrowing the poverty gap. Social security benefits for female heads of households were found to serve as a function of alleviating poverty gap and for male heads of households to supplement household income. Based on these results, this study suggested the discovery of various poverty states, expansion of basic security for the female elderly, and the connection between the purpose of social security benefits and key targets.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.235-253
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• 2001

As we are entering the information society, there are increasing concerns about information gaps which are believed to create serious obstacles to social integration and development. Previous studies on the information gaps in Korea, despite their contributions to our understanding of the issue, appear to be descriptive. This study attempts to analyze the relative importance of residential area, gender, age education, and household income for information gaps and their changes in recent years. Based on the data from two surveys conducted by the Information Culture Center, the study run multivariate logit model analysis of the sue of computer and internet. The result shows that all the variables except residential area have influences on the use of computer and internet. In terms of time change, gender-based difference in the use of digital media has decreased between 1998 and 2000 while the differences by all the other variables have remained constant or increased.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.51-81
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• 2012

This paper empirically investigates the dynamics of the poverty-higher education gap in Korea. Poverty may lead to a gap in access to higher education through two channels: the short-term inability to pay college tuition and fees and long-term disadvantages arising from one's environment that impede the development of academic ability. A regression analysis based on data from the Korean Education and Employment Panel suggests that it is long-term disadvantages that plays a dominant role in the dynamics of this gap. We also replicate a study carried out by Carneiro and Heckman, who have addressed a similar question in the US. Again, the results confirm that the crucial constraint is the long-term accumulation of disadvantages arising mainly from family background, not the short-term constraint. These findings suggest that policies designed to alleviate short-term financial constraints, such as tuition reduction, will be less effective in reducing the gap in accessing four-year college in Korea than policies involving early intervention in children's development.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.237-245
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• 2020

The development of information and communication technology (ICT) provides many opportunities for businesses to increase productivity, to have better relationships with customers and suppliers, and to develop new products more efficiently and effectively. However, recently, there have been claims that ICT development in a country would increase income inequality of the country. In this debate, we examine the impact of ICT development on the income inequality at the country level. Data of 28 OECD countries were used for our study. According to results of the analysis, a country with a higher level of ICT development is likely to have a lower the level of income inequality. There have been many concerns that development of ICTs may result in a higher level of income inequality mainly because wealthy companies or individuals can more affordable to utilize advanced ICT and ICTs have replaced labor. However, there has been no such identified impact, at least in recent OECD countries. Rather, we can expect ICT development to play a role in lowering income inequality of a country.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.17-36
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• 2023

This research aims to investigate the socio-demographic, financial, and housing statuses of young married couples in Chonsei housing and to analyze the determinants of their residential environment quality and housing expenditure in four districts - Seoul and Gyeonggi-Incheon Area(GIA) of the Seoul Metropolitan Area(SMA), and metropolises and non-metropolises of non-SMA. From the 2020 Korean Housing Survey(KHS), this cross-sectional analysis examined a sample of 691 households, and the findings revealed that most were headed by college-educated, salaried male workers aged 31 years old. While childless dual-earner couples were common in Seoul, single-income families of three were prevalent in non-SMA. The financial status of the couples in Seoul was a lot better than in the other three areas, particularly much higher in Chonsei deposit and total asset value. Further, many lived in a three-bedroom apartment unit sized 60m² and bigger, using a Chonsei loan. Regardless of areas, almost all the households spent a very low portion of their living expenses and income on housing costs. However, dual-earner families positively increased borrowing capacity, which improves the household's financial position that is likely to lead to equity increment in a volatile asset market in the long run. The statistical results indicated that residential environment assessment was influenced by neighborhood quality and housing expenditure was affected by housing size in Seoul, urban amenities in GIA and householder's gender in non-metropolises. Thus, this research proposes that strong measures be considered to mitigate housing inequality embedded in geographical and socio-economic disparities.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.57-78
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• 2004

The economic crisis in $1997{\sim}1998$ caused massive unemployment and unprecedentedly increased the number of the poor in Korea. As many unemployed families fell into poverty, the poverty rate skyrocketed to higher than 10 percent. Not later than 2000, unemployment late got back to normal and real average income among urban households approached to the income level prior to the economic crisis. Although the economic crisis has been passed through, poverty was not decreased to the low level prior to the crisis by 2000. Why does it remain high? This study attempts to provide an answer to this question by analysing the poverty trend over the 1990s. Data come from the National Survey of Household Income and Expenditures 1991, 1996, and 20001. Results show that poverty was rapidly reduced in the first half period of the 1990s. This reduction in poverty is largely explained by steady and rapid economic growth. Modest improvement in income inequality also contributed. In contrast, the poverty rate considerably increased in the latter half of the 1990s. Average income was not fully recovered to its prior level, which reflected the economic crisis and the subsequent economic stagnation. Worsened income inequality led to higher poverty rate too. In addition, demographic changes increased the share of economically vulnerable types of families, such as families headed by single parents and the elderly. The most significant factor in explaining the higher poverty rate was extended income differential among non-elderly adults, while the next was the increased number of the elderly families. Yet, findings a little differ depending on which concepts of poverty to adopt. In the analyses based on the concept of absolute poverty, economic growth the most significantly affected the poverty trends in the 1999s. Changes in income inequality played the most important role in explaining the trend in relative poverty. Adopting the concepts of quasi-absolute poverty, which is preferred in this study, results show that rapid economic growth significantly reduced poverty in the first half of the 1990s and both worsened income inequality and stagnated economic growth increased poverty in the latter 1990s.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.251-260
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• 2019

This study aimed to examine the associations between family economic status, social relationships, and the career identity of adolescents. The study assessed the mediating effects of social relationships on the relationship between economic status and the career identity of adolescents, utilizing data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS). The result indicated that family economic status was related to the quality of the social relationships that significantly affected the career identity of adolescents. These findings suggested that the inequality in career development of adolescents due to family economic status could be reduced by promoting positive social relationships. Convergent interventions that help adolescents to build positive social relationships would be necessary to improve the career outcomes of those from low-income families.