• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.63-73
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• 1995

Absolute poverty is redefined as biological existence level poverty and relative poverty is also redefinded as 'the state that relatively insufficient compared to the specific society's average living standard under the condition that basic needs on the biological existence level has been satisfied.' Then absolute poverty and relative poverty lies on the same welfare continuum. Therefore these two can be regarded as one unified concept. Theoretical bottom line of poverty is the biological existence level and ceiling is average income. Poverty line for the social policy is to be drawn between ceiling and floor. Using these standard lines three poverty bands are categorized : minimum subsistence level, minimum decency level.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.199-237
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• 2006

The relationship between growth and distribution, which has been revealed through many empirical evidences, is that growth is distribution neutral on average and high asset inequality could be a hindrance of economic growth. The growth versus distribution dichotomy is false, as poverty reduction requires blending policy of growth and distribution both theoretically and empirically. At this present, the pro-poor growth policy, which has been recommended by the World Bank, should be urgently needed in Korea to achieve the reduction of absolute poverty through the harmony between growth and distribution. However, it is not easy to expect the reduction of absolute poverty if the Korean government, in means of reducing absolute inequality, pursues anti-polarization policy. Specifically, we cannot deny the existence of negative correlation between absolute poverty and absolute inequality on average.

• 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.

• Proceedings of KHEA Conference
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• 1997.07a
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• pp.52-52
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• 1997

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.31-53
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• 2008

This study intends to verify the poverty characteristics of the rural elderly households so as to provide more specific data for the intervention of social welfare in the improvement of quality of life of the rural elderly. According to my study of the absolute poverty ratio, the poverty gap, the relative poverty ratio, the subjective poverty ratio, the subjective economic level and the life satisfaction level of the rural elderly households in comparison with those of the other groups, the conclusion is as follows: First, the total living cost of the rural elderly households is rather low with the food cost taking about 30% of the total living cost. Second, in terms of the poverty ratio based on socio-demographic characteristics, higher poverty ratio show among women, older people and households of fewer members. Third, 82.2% of the rural elderly households living with an income below the minimum living cost is found around the poverty line. Fourth, the rural elderly households show a comparatively higher poverty ratio than the other groups in the absolute and relative poverty, but lower economic strain than other groups in the subjective poverty ratio and life satisfaction level. In short, the rural elderly households' poverty level is generally high and therefore need ways of active economic supports, while a political approach to the subjective needs of the regional and intergenerational groups is also required.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.89-112
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• 2017

Because of low amounts of pension benefit, the Basic Pension of Korea has played a very limited role in reducing the high poverty rates of the elderly. Based on an empirical analysis of the poverty alleviation effect of alternative pension amounts, this paper shows that although the higher basic pension amounts help to reduce the absolute poverty rate of the elderly, it cannot significantly reduce the relative poverty rates. Authors contends that the main objective of the basic pension should be targeted to combat the absolute poverty level. This paper also argues that in order to reduce the relative poverty level of the elderly, the benefit level of National Pension should also be increased.

• 한국노년학
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.93-108
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of absolute / relative poverty on the life satisfaction focusing on mediation effect of subjective social status by type of elderly residents. In order to analyze the distinct characteristics of the elderly, analysis was conducted with 3,327 the elderly living together and 668 the elderly living alone using 'Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing(KLoSA)' from 3rd to 5th wave data provided by the Korea Employment Information Service. The main analysis results are as follows. First, each poverty rate for the elderly living together accounted for 43.5 percent and 51.4 percent, while 63.8 percent and 77.2 percent for the elderly living alone respectively. Second, life satisfaction was higher among the elderly living together than living alone, However, life satisfaction was not related to condition of poverty among the elderly living alone. Third, absolute / relative poverty were associated with life satisfaction of the elderly living together, and subjective social status had a mediating effect. However, relative poverty was not related to life satisfaction among the elderly living alone, which indicated that it needs to support not only the financial approach to overcome absolute poverty but also the multi-dimensional poverty perspective in the intervention of the elderly living alone Based on the results, the study suggested to make a tool to measure of poverty using multi-dimensional poverty indicators.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.337-347
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• 2009

Since 1990, South Korean children living in relative poverty have increased whereas those living in absolute poverty have decreased until 2002 and then the decrease remained somewhat stagnant. A substantial body of research proposed a strong relations between child poverty and low quality well-being of the child. Poor children, in comparison to those of more affluent families, are more likely to have health, behavioral, social, and emotional problems. They are also more likely to grow up in families that provide less cognitive stimulations which, in turn, can negatively affect their cognitive and academic attainments. The present paper highlights the trends and the consequences of child poverty and suggests policy approaches based on the premise of decreasing poverty of low-income children and their families.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.43-51
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• 2015

Objectives: Socioeconomic factors are one of the significant factors explaining drinking problems in our society. From the poverty and inequality perspective, not only absolute poverty but perceived level of poverty or inequality has a direct effect on one's health and health behaviors. The purpose of the study is to explore the growth trajectories of problem drinking in Korea in relation to poverty and perceived income. Methods: Data from 13,414 adults were analyzed using 4 years of data (2010 to 2014) from the Korea Welfare Panel. Main variables included poverty status, perceived income inequality, and problem drinking. A latent growth modeling was employed for the analysis. Results: The non-poverty group had higher initial level of problem drinking; however, the poverty group showed higher rate of increase in problem drinking rate. The perceived income inequality had no significant influence on the initial level, but over time, those with higher level of perceived income inequality showed higher rate of increase in problem drinking. Conclusions: Findings showed that poverty and inequality affect changes in problem drinking. Efforts to prevent and decrease problems related to alcohol should not only focus on changing individuals' behavior but also on decreasing the inequality gap.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.69 no.3
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• pp.9-33
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• 2017

This study estimated the socioeconomic costs of child poverty. Based on previous studies, the present study organized component categories for direct and indirect costs of child poverty, and estimated the cost of each category in 2015 through the collection of existing data and Delphi survey techniques among experts. The total socioeconomic costs of child poverty were compared to Korea's GDP. The results of this study were as follows. First, the socioeconomic costs of child poverty in Korea in 2015 ranged from 55 trillion KW(3.5% of GDP) to 99 trillion KW(6.5% of GDP). Second, the indirect socioeconomic costs of child poverty are much higher than the direct costs. Third, among the total cost categories, costs related to productivity loss and unemployment accounted for the largest portion of both the socioeconomic costs based upon absolute poverty and relative poverty. Crime costs are the second largest. Based on these results, we discussed the importance of early intervention for children in poverty; implementation of two-generation program that intervenes simultaneously with parents and children; and long-term, continuous and integrated intervention for high-risk groups such as poor children.