• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.105-140
• /
• 2004

Korea is entering the class of aging population nations. This paper investigates the extent demographic factors and the aging population affect the saving rate, using an extended life-cycle/permanent-income hypothesis on saving. The results of the tests with Korean household survey data from 1977 to 2002 reveal that real saving rates increase when the duration of lifetime and per household real disposable income rise, and decrease when the growth rate of income and net worth-to-GDP ratio rises. The growth rate of per household real disposable income has negative effects, suggesting that households calculate their life cycle income in a forward looking manner. The elasticities with respect to a change in the lifetime horizon and the growth rate of per household income are 0.58 and -0.03, respectively. A one percent rise in the net worth to GDP ratio reduces the saving rate by 0.3 percent. A one percent rise in per household income increases it by 0.33 percent. The younger-age and the elder-age dependency ratios have insignificant effects on the household saving rate behavior. When Korean life expectancy rises, the private saving rate declines modestly and the government saving rate declines substantially. The economy's real net saving rate declines from 33 percent in 2002 to 30 percent by the year 2030.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.305-312
• /
• 2022

Each country's economic progress creates opportunities for its citizens to raise their income. Meanwhile, the country has secured the people's social security policies, particularly the protection of income equality, to promote harmonious and sustained economic development. Vietnam has been located in a dynamic economic development area in Southeast Asia since the 1986 economic reforms, with an annual growth rate of around 7%. Meanwhile, having achieved a middle-income status of roughly 3500 USD per person per year, Vietnam is attempting to maintain income equality and access to welfare systems for its inhabitants. As a result, the primary goal of this study is to use an autoregressive distributed lagged model to investigate the effects of income inequality and other economic factors such as foreign direct investment and trade openness on Vietnam's economic growth from 1992 to 2019. The research focuses attention on literature on income inequality, economic development indicators, and economic development in unique ways in this study. Income inequality slows the rate of change in economic development in the same year, according to our findings. Finally, the study will make policy suggestions to the Vietnamese government.

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

• Analyses & Alternatives
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.105-123
• /
• 2020

This study analyzes the risk selection behavior of Japanese households. The study approaches the view of 'the hyperbolic discount' which is used in behavioral economics based on the rise in mortgage lending by low-income households in the late 2000s. The study focuses on how households risk preferences vary by income levels. The study analyzes the relationship of attitude of household interest rate risk using Binomial Logistic and Heckman two-step estimation method assuming that there are only two types of Adjustable-Rate Mortgage and Fixed-Rate Mortgage. As a result of the empirical analysis, low-income households annual income tend to have a higher proportion of housing debt as same as higher interest rate risk preferences households in proportion to income growth and interest rate risk preferences. Those results indicate that there is possibility of a hyperbolic discount on low-income households in Japan, and support the hypothesis that low-income households are relatively higher household debt ratio because of high utility due to home purchase in the near future (short-term).

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.132-160
• /
• 1995

This study purported to acquire information necessary to improve the management of general hospitals. It tried to determine major indices which represent managerial performance of general hospitals and to identify the managerial characteristics of general hospitals which affect the major financial indices. Eighty-eight hospitals were chosen from 188 hospitals which were subject to standardization audit by the Korean Hospital Association. The results of a discriminant analysis are summarized as followings. First, when a single index was used to measure managerial performance of the sample hospitals, the ration of net profit to total capital was the best index and its discriminant power was 58.14%. The ratio of the number of boardmen((M. D.) and average daily medical cost were highly related to this index. Second, when two indices were used, income growth rte and the ration of net profit to total capital had the highest discriminant distinction ability. Their discriminant power was 61.9%. In this case, the ratio of the number of boardmen(M. D.) was significantly and highly related to the indices. Third, when all three indices-income growth rate, the ration of net profit to total capital and quick ratio - were used together, a discriminant function was statistically insignificant. Therefore, using all three indices was not useful in measuring managerial performance of the sample hospitals. In conclusion, using two indices-income growth rate and the ration of net profit to total capital-was better in measuring manegerial performance of general hospitals than using a single index. The independent variable which affected these indices was the ration of the number of boardmen. The discriminant function was : $D_{GI}=2.77+4.832\times(the ratio of the number of boardmen)$ *G=growth index(income growth rate) *I=profit index(the ration of net profit to total capital)

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.15-30
• /
• 2017

This study analyzes the relationship between income inequality and economic growth. Gini coefficient (market income), the deciles income inequality index and per capita real GDP were analyzed. Furthermore, various cointegration tests were tried to improve the reliability of the test results. From the weak exogeniety test of between per capita real GDP and the Gini coefficient (market income), per capita real GDP has a weak exogeneity while the Gini coefficient is endogenous. From the various cointegration tests, we found out that there is a cointegration between Gini coefficient and per capita real GDP. Moreover, it is estimated that per capita real GDP has a positive effect on the Gini coefficient (market income). In the VAR Granger causal analysis, per capita real GDP affects the Gini coefficient (market income), but it is difficult to say that the Gini coefficient (market income) always has an effect on per capita real GDP. Also, the impulse-response function of the VAR model shows that per capita real GDP temporarily reduces the Gini coefficient (market income), and then increases it over time. Accordingly, it is necessary for the policies to improve not only the distribution structure but also income distribution through economic growth.

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

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.7
• /
• pp.55-66
• /
• 2021

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship and effects of variables both directly and indirectly (e.g., investment (INV), government expenditure (GE), unemployment rate (UR), economic growth (EG), and income inequality). The analytical phases consist, first, to transform the data using the Log Natural (Ln) method. Second, to check normality and multicollinearity of data. Third, to test direct effects of variables (government expenditure and investment effect on the unemployment rate and economic growth; investment on government expenditure; economic growth on unemployment rate; economic growth and unemployment rate on income inequality). Fourth, to test indirect effects using Sobel test, which involves UR and EG as intervening variable. Fifth, to test hypotheses with p-value < 0.05. The results of the study reveal that, of the 12 relationships, statistics show that 11 variations of the association have significant positive and negative effects. Theoretically, the different characters and goals of GE and INV in each country will have a different impact on EG and UR goals. The study provides an input, especially for the government. To create optimal EG through GE and INV, it is necessary to allocate budgets to industrial sectors that can absorb a massive labor force and to new economic growth sectors.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
• /
• v.49 no.8
• /
• pp.37-46
• /
• 2011

Using the 1987-2008 quarterly aggregated data of the Household Income and Expenditure Survey, this study investigated the factors influencing household saving rate. The independent variables in the AR regression model were the GDP growth rate, shares of the total household expenditure allocated to tax & social insurance, and education, the variables reflecting the conditions of the asset market including interest rate, stock market index, and real estate price index, and the variables representing the social economic conditions including the index of aging and income inequality. Among the independent variables interest rate, stock market index, and income inequality were found to be significantly associated with the household saving rate. These results suggested that the redistribution and financial market policies favorable to savers may be effective for raising the household saving rate.

• Analyses & Alternatives
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.71-102
• /
• 2020

This study analyzes the effect of demographic changes on economic growth. We use the supply-side output identity to forecast the growth potential of the Korean economy. According to the results, even based on optimistic assumptions and prospects, the economic growth rate is likely to fall drastically starting in 2020. Of course, to maintain growth potential, efforts to increase productivity are necessary. However, given the historical experience of developed countries, it is not clear whether the huge trend of demographic change can be offset by efforts to increase productivity. In the so-called '30-50 club' countries, both labor productivity and growth rate tend to fall after reaching the per capita income of $30,000. The degree of decline in the growth rate is closely related to changes in the working age population and the prime-age workforce. The results are similar when tracking the path of changes in total factor productivities of the economy. When a certain level of income is reached, the increase in total factor productivity also tends to slow down. The ripple effects of rapid changes in demographics will indeed be extensive. The negative impact is likely to be concentrated at a time when the working age population, the prime-age workforce, and the total population shrink simultaneously. Above all, it is necessary to use the government's fiscal space to block the possibility of a rapid fall in the growth rate. In addition, it is important to continuously implement various reform tasks that should be promoted, such as improving the education system and strengthening the social safety net.