• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.1-29
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• 2013

This paper examines the effect of trade liberalization or globalization, more broadly, on plants' growth as well as on "bi-polarization". To do so, we reviewed the possible theoretical mechanisms put forward by recent heterogeneous firm trade theories, and provided available micro-evidence from existing empirical studies on Korean manufacturing sector. Above all, the empirical evidence provided in this paper strongly suggests that globalization promoted growth of Korean manufacturing plants. Specifically, evidence suggests that exporting not only increases within-plant productivity but also promotes introduction of new products and dropping of old products. However, the empirical evidence also suggest that globalization has some downsides: widening productivity differences across plants and rising wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers. Specifically, trade liberalization widens the initial productivity differences among plants through learning from export market participation as well as through interactions between exporting and R&D, both of which increase plants' productivity. We also show that there is only a small group of large and productive "superstar" plants engaged in both R&D and exporting activity, which can fully utilize the potential benefits from globalization. Finally, we also show evidence that trade liberalization interacts with innovation to increase the skilled-unskilled wage inequality.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.245-257
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• 2005

The income of wage earners and the transition of the inequality of their income from 1993 through 1998 have been analyzed. Korea's economy went through an epochal change since the beginning of the IMF economy and the inequality of income, which is part of the change incurred by this situation, has been studied in this thesis. The 'human capital theory' has been chosen as the basis of study. Also, gender, educational background and age, which are the key variables of the 'human capital theory', have been set as independent variables to compare each variable's influence in the distribution of income. From 1993 to 1998, the effect of gender has shown a fluctuating pattern whereas the effect of education declined slowly and the effect of age rapidly. The accumulative effect of the three variables show a fluctuating pattern, but at a declining mode. Though discrimination against gender, educational background and age, in terms of income, is at a declining mode, it is apparent that it still exists. Especially, discrimination against gender is continuing at a fluctuating pattern.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.49-63
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• 2023

This study investigates the occupational mobility patterns of young wage employees at the local level of the labor market and empirically examines the interplay between worker-level and local labor market-level determinants between 2010 and 2020. The 4th to 14th waves of the Youth Panel 2007 were integrated with the Korea Network for Occupations and Workers and the Local Area Labor Force Survey for estimation using hierarchical linear model. Our results indicate that Gross Regional Domestic Product per capita is key determinant of occupational upward mobility. Also, Estimates of employment size, population density, and the unemployment rate of local labor market have different effects depending on the education level and occupational location of youth workers, suggesting that the effects of structural factors of local labor market may not be distributed equally among all youth wage workers. The findings have policy implications regarding the recent rise in inequality and polarization in local labor markets.

• 한국노년학
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.727-745
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• 2017

This study purported to examine the effects of precarious employment and social capital on the changes of self-rated health status among the middle aged and the young-old population in South Korea. The study analyzed 12 year follow-up data generated by the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(KLIPS 6-17), which included 10532 employed subjects aged 55 to 75. Multi-level growth curve modeling was performed by fixed and random effect models using STATA 13.0 program. Afterwards, Hausman test was performed, which resulted in support of the estimation by fixed effect model. The results showed that a day labor position was significant factor affecting the deteriorated changes of self-rated health status over time. In addition, wage, weekly working hours, and private/relational social capitals were also found to be significant factors affecting the changes of the self-rated health status. The results supported the divergence hypothesis as well as the cumulative advantage theory. Efforts should be made to develop and implement various employment support policies and social service programs to alleviate the health inequality of the employed workers over their middle-aged to young-old period.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.323-357
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• 2009

This study illuminates the mechanism of life course on labor status of old age complementing the limits of labor status hypothesis of old age and model of statues attainment and combining them. The main results from this analysis are summarized in four points. Firstly, older men mostly engaged in agriculture, forestry and fishing industry or low-class occupations. A very small portion held high level or professional occupations. Regular full-time employees or employers were only 4.4% while, about 70% of older employees were temporal employees or self-employed. This shows that the elderly affluence hypothesis which alleges that most older men maintain high level occupations, applies to only a few. The second finding is that wealth differentials are sizable: about 20% of older workers own less than 50 million won, while 9.3% possess more than 600 million won. Therefore, it is not safe to claim that most people have accumulated enough wealth for old age according to the elderly affluence hypothesis. This gap being mainly reflected by education level, suggests that the model of status attainment is appropriate as wealth accumulation hypothesis. Thirdly, educational level determined not only lifetime careers, but also labor status of old age. Fourthly, using path analysis, the last finding is that education had effect on labor status of old age through lifetime career and wealth. That is, old men who have low education level had unstable lifetime career and own less wealth. They work in low income job, low social occupations and unstable occupation type in old age. This shows that life inequality continues until old age. Therefore, the inequality of education opportunity, spread of part-time work and small scale self employees should be discouraged. Furthermore, related policy should be provided in order to prevent being caught in unstable work.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.141-172
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• 2016

This study examines the employment conditions and labour experience of elementary after-school care teachers in South Korea. Based on the empirical data collected through in-depth interviews with after-school care teachers in Gwangju Metropolitan City, the study considers multifaceted problems faced by after-school care teachers in their workplace. The after-school care class is part of educational policies initiated and rapidly expanded by the Ministry of Education, resulting in the substantial increase of non-regular school workers. The irregularization of after-school care teachers illustrates that the common problems faced by female non-regular workers, such as social discrimination, exclusion and inequality, are also transplanted into the typical public sector. In the case of Gwangju Metropolitan City, during the past two years there have been evident increases both in under 15-hour short time contract care teachers and outsourcing of care classes. Temporary part-time contract care teachers suffer relentless job insecurity and experience poor working conditions, exclusion and discrimination within the workplace and labour alienation. In order to minimize the organized resistance of care teachers, school authorities implicitly individualize and isolate care teachers through hierarchization, the division of labour and the spatial division of classes between indefinite and temporary contract teachers.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.69-96
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• 2013

This paper is to critically review the economic reasoning of non-sustainability of welfare state due to its intrinsic incentive problems and to see how the nordic welfare state responds to them. The welfare state as a political design of state to pursue equality has social insurance as its main economic function. It survives market failure of private insurance to contribute to human capital investment and industrial restructuring. The universal tax-financed welfare state, however, has the problem of tragedy of commons such as reduced work incentive and work ethics. But, the existing nordic welfare state overcomes it through employment-focused policy arrangements, maintenance of work ethics and benefits moral, incentive mechanism of wage-compression, public educational investment and its complementation with social security. The Nordic model shows that problems of incentive and moral are not about those of theory and reasoning, but about their reality which policies and institutions could respond to.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.253-283
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• 2009

This study examined empirically the effect mechanism of labor market structure on access to social insurance. Data were derived from the second wave of Korea Welfare Panel Study in 2007 with a sub-sample of 3,790 of wage workers. Path analysis and structural equation model were used to analyze the effect mechanism. Findings confirmed the inequality of labor market by revealing high causal relationships among occupations and jobs, size of the firm, employment forms, and income. The results suggest that access to social insurance depends on the structural interaction of labor market rather than on the individual worker's trait. Small enterprises and non-standard employment were indicated as the main element explaining the unequal access to social insurance. Finally this study identified women's experience of intensive inequalities in the labor market status and access to social insurance.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.133-157
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• 2012

This study analyzed plans for retirement by focusing on preferred retirement timing(PRT) measure. Current pension program show rather strong guideline about the timing of full-retirement. This study asked whether the middle age group are willing to retire correspond to the policy guidelines or not. Research sample came from 2008 KLOSA data, recruiting 1,367 workers who are residing in cities or in metropolitan area (women: 34.8%). I have analyzed one item question asking "In what age do you want to fully retire?", The results showed that, about two third of respondents declared they do not want to retire unless they have health problems, or would expect to retire no earlier than age 70. However, a third of respondents expected normal retirement coming between 60~64. Second, the determinants of timing for retirement were differ by PRT. Social determinants, such as gender, short work hours, being employed, and higher status in family income were associated with early PRT. While, good health status, positive view on the future economics were highly associated with late PRT. The results reveal that the timing of retirement is getting more diverse and obscure in the individual level.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.175-208
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• 2018

The purpose of this article is to evaluate Korea's income-led growth policy that is still in dispute. To do this, I discussed the content, background and implications of the income-led growth theory. Next, I discussed the role of income-led growth as a growth strategy in the Korean economy. The income-led growth theory comes from the Keynesian tradition which emphasizes the role of demand in the economic growth. The basic idea emerged nearly 80 years ago, and the current model emerged about 30 years ago. Some of the Korean researchers began to pay attention to this issue when ILO researchers discussed it in 2010. The recent emphasis on income-led growth theory was due to the tendency of declining labor income, thus forming a consensus that increasing inequality can hamper growth. The effectiveness of the income-led growth strategy, which can lead to economic growth by increasing the share of labor income, is theoretically and empirically controversial. However, it is understandable why income-led growth strategies have emerged. Income-led growth is not a short-term strategy nor a key of growth strategy. However, in current socio economic structures, the prescriptions of income-led growth theory is meaningful in that it enables sustainable growth by making the economic system healthy. In addition, unlike the West, the government's welfare expenditure can play a significant role as part of the income-led growth prescriptions in Korea.