• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.1-22
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• 2023

Purpose - Southeast Asia has been the focus of Korea's foreign investment. Korea has been helping developing countries in Southeast Asia achieve economic growth and win-win cooperation through capital exports. FDI is an important channel for technology diffusion. However, the impact of FDI on the bias of technological progress in the host country is dependent on the host country's own endowment structure and capital-labor factor substitution elasticity. Therefore, the central issue of this paper is to accurately evaluate the impact of Korea's FDI to the four Southeast Asian countries in various industries on their bias of technological progress. Design/methodology - The paper uses macroeconomic data for Korea and four East Asian countries to estimate capital-labor factor elasticities of substitution using nonlinear, seemingly uncorrelated regressions (NLSUR). Then, the biased technological change index (BTCI) is calculated for each country. Finally, panel data analysis is used to explore the impact of Korean FDI in various industries in the four Southeast Asian countries on their own directed technological progress, and a robustness test is conducted. Findings - There is a substitution relationship between capital and labor factors based on their elasticity in Korea, Singapore and the Philippines. There is a complementary relationship between capital and labor factors in Indonesia and Malaysia. According to the BTCI, there is a trend toward labor-biased technological progress in all countries. Korean investments in manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade in the host country trigger capital-biased technological change in the host country; investments in the finance, insurance and information and communication sectors trigger labor-biased technological change. In addition, this paper also confirms that directed technological progress can enable cross-country transmission. Originality/value - The innovation of this paper lies in three aspects. First, we estimate the BTCI for five countries and explore the trend and situation of directed technological progress in each country from each country's own perspective. Second, we explore the impact of Korean FDI in the host country on the bias to its technological progress at the industry level. Second, we explore the impact of Korean FDI in various industries in the four Southeast Asian countries on the four countries' own directed technological progress from a national perspective. Finally, we propose corresponding countermeasures for technological progress from the perspective of inverse factor endowment. These innovative points not only expand the understanding of technological progress and cross-country technology transfer in East Asia but also provide practical references for policy-makers and business operators.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.52-70
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• 2009

This study is to analyse the reimbursement prices of drugs in Japan. Japan has the world's second-largest pharmaceutical market, and the world's largest price-controlled pharmaceutical market. The reimbursement prices of new drugs in Japan are determined by confidential negotiations between the manufacturer and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Pharmaceuticals account for a larger share of total healthcare expenditures in Japan than in most other major pharmaceutical markets such as France, Germany, United Kingdom and United States. Prescription drugs' share of total healthcare spending has slightly increased in recent years, from 20.2% in 2000 to 21.5% in 2004, the most recent year for which data are currently available. This trend is attributable to the effect of the Japanese rapidly aging population that stimulates demand for healthcare services. There are several method of price setting for drugs as below. First, on the initial pricing of branded drugs, is the similar-efficacy pricing method and cost calculation method. Second is postmarketing price changes which are biennial price revisions under the rule of National Health Insurance. Third is the rule of the generics price. Recently, the generics market is expanded because there are increasing numbers of hospitals by DPCs(Diagnosis-procedure Combinations).

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.1-31
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• 2016

This paper investigates the cyclical behavior of UI benefit take-up rate, the share of unemployed persons who are eligible for job seekers' allowances(JSA) and actually receive them. Using Korea's Employment Insurance DB, it also identifies the factors linked to the decision to take up job seekers' allowances. The results show that the take-up rate is countercyclical and leads both unemployment rate and Coincident Composite Index cyclical component by 6 months and is positively correlated with replacement rate and benefit duration, suggesting that extending benefit duration and raising benefit level can boost benefit claims to increase take-up rates in Korea.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.71-101
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• 2011

Using an establishment-level panel data drawn from the employment insurance administrative DB, this study investigates the relationship between elderly and youth employment in Korea. The primary focus of interest is whether or not the ageing of workforce and an increase in elderly employment have negative impacts on youth employment. In the regression using the full sample, we find the evidence that a movement in elderly employment and ageing workforce are positively related to youth employment. However, we do not find consistent evidence of the positive impact of the elderly employment on youth employment in the estimations using sub-samples divided by various criteria.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.29-57
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• 2014

Using unemployment insurance and income-contingent loan (ICL) that conditions repayment by debtors upon their incomes this paper characterizes an efficient income support system for the unemployed, which maximizes their lifetime utilities by effectively enhancing inter-state and inter-temporal consumption-smoothing subject to incentive constraints on the part of the beneficiaries. This paper also emphasizes the generality of the argument for a mix of ICL and subsidy that may be applied potentially to many types of government welfare program.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.449-461
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between cost and revenue for inpatient nursing activities in general wards. Methods: Data were collected from 12 medical-surgical wards in one general hospital from January 1 to December 31, 2010. The nursing activities were categorized into 2 groups according to nursing service payment type in terms of the Korea health insurance system. Descriptive statistics were used to identify nursing activities and nursing activity costs. Results: Of 140 nursing activities identified as performed in general wards, payment for 69 items was included in nursing management fees. The percentage of each cost for the nursing units was 90% for labor, 4% for materials, and 6% for operating expenses. The cost for medical support nursing service accounted for 38% of costs and nursing management fees, 62%. The average profit and loss was -237,257,000 won. The cost recovery rate for nursing service was only 44%. Conclusion: The results indicate a need to measure the economic value of nursing activities performed in general wards and use it as a basis for establishing an adequate reimbursement system for nursing service.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.1-25
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• 2007

Relative value scales introduced in 2001 remarkably improved health insurance fee schedule, but current relative value scales have many problems. In the beginning the government intended to introduce 'resource based relative value scales(RBRVSs)' like USA, but political adjustment of RBRVS studied in 19.17 weakened the relationship between relative value scale and resource consumption. So unbalance of health insurance fees are existing till now. Also relative value was not divided to physician work and practice expense, and malpractice fee was not divided separately. To correct the unbalance of current relative value scales, the refinement project of health insurance relative value scales started in 2003. The project team divided relative value scales into three components, which are physician work, practice expense, malpractice fee. Physician work was studied by professional organizations like Korean medical association. To develop the practice expense relative value, project team organized clinical practice expert panels(CPEPs) composed of physicians, nurses, and medical technicians. CPEPs constructed direct expense data like labor costs, material costs, equipment costs about each medical procedures. The practice expense relative values of medical procedures were developed by the allocation of the institution level direct & indirect costs according to CPEPs direct costs. Institution level direct & indirect costs were collected in 21 hospitals, 98 medical clinics, 53 dental clinics, 78 oriental clinics, and 46 pharmacies. The malpractice fee relative values were developed through the survey of malpractice related costs of hospitals, clinics, pharmacies. Putting together three components of relative values in one scale, the final relative values were made. The final relative values were calculated under budget neutrality by medical departments, that is, total relative value score of a department was same before and after the revision. but malpractice fee relative value scores were added to total scores of relative values. So total score of a department was increased by the malpractice fee relative value score of that department This project failed in making 'resource based' relative value scales in the true sense of the word, because the total relative value scores of medical departments were fixed. However the project team constructed the objective basis of relative value scale like physician's work, direct practice expense, malpractice fee. So step by step making process of the basis, the fixation of total scores by the departments will be resolved and the resource based relative value scale will be introduced in true sense.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.35-69
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• 1995

The managerial environment of hospitals in Korea characterized by low levels of medical insurance fees is worsening by increasing government regulations as to the utilization of medical services, rising costs of labor, material, and medical equipments, growing patient expectations concerning the quality of services, and escalating competitions among large hospitals in the market. Hospitals should seek for their survival strategies in this harsh environment and they should have information about costs of their products in doing so. However, it has not been available due to the complexity of the production process of hospital services. The objectives of this study were to develop a service-based cost accounting model and to apply the developed model to a study hospital to obtain cost information of hospital services. A model commonly used for the job-order product cost accounting in the manufacturing industry was modified for the use in hospitals in Korea. Actual costs, instead of standard costs, incurred to produce a unit of services during a given period of time were estimated in the model. Data required to implement the model included financial information, statistics for the allocation of supportive cost center costs to final cost centers, statistics for the allocation of final cost center costs to services, and the volume of each services charged to patients during a study period. The model was executed using data of a university teaching hospital located in Seoul for the fiscal year 1992. Data for financial information, allocation statistics fo supportive service costs, and the volume of services, most of them in electronic form, were available to the study. Data for allocation statistics of final cost center costs were collected in the study. There were 15 types of evaluation and management service, 2, 923 types of technical service, and 2, 608 types of drug and material service charged to patients in the study hospital during the fiscal year 1992. Labor costs of each of seven types of pesonnel, material costs of 611 types of drugs and materials, and depreciation costs of 212 types of medical equipments, miscellaneous costs, and indirect costs incurred in producing a unit of each services were estimated. Medical insurance fees for basic services such as evaluation and management of inpatients and outpatients, injection, and filling prescriptions, and for operating procedures were found to be set lower than costs. Infrequent services which use expensive medical equipments showed negative revenuse as well. On the other hand, fees for services not covered by the insurance such as CT, MRI and Sonogram, and for laboratory tests were higher than costs. This study has a significance in making it possible for a hospital to obtain cost information for all types of services which produced income based on all types of expenses incurred during a given period of time. This information can assist the management of a hospital in finding an effective cost reduction strategy, an efficient service-mix strategy under a given fee structure, and an optimum strategy for within-hospital resource allocations.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.380-389
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• 2012

This study aims to argue fundamental issues on factors associated with revenues of hand injury patients to effectively manage hospitals specialized in hand injuries. The study employes 2,461 patients who entered S hospital from 2008 to 2010 with hand injuries. The followings are the results of the study. First, there is significant difference among occurrence of hand injuries with regard to demographics of patients. That is, it is likely to have longer average length of stay(ALOS) of male over female, of the elderly over infants and toddlers, and vice versa on average daily patient revenues. Also, compared to patients with traffic and labor insurance, patients with health insurance is likely to stay longer at lower daily cost. Fifth, demographics and incidence of hand injuries were significantly associated with average length of stay(ALOS) and average daily patient revenues. That is, male over female, age over 60 over any other age categories, patients with traffic and labor insurances over one with health insurance, cases with laceration, avulsion and bone transplantation over any other types of hand injury patients were factors significantly related to ALOS and average daily patient revenues. In sum, it is needed to focus on education and campaign to raise attentions on preventing various hand injuries. Also, managers at hospitals specialized in hand injuries should pay attention on issues such as reducing ALOS to run the organization effectively.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.129-155
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• 2000

This empirical study, activity-based costing, a newly introduced approach that has proved to be an improvement over the conventional costing system in product or service costing, is applied at department of clinical pathology in K university hospital. The study subjects were 233 test procedures done in clinical laboratory of K university hospital. Activity analysis was done by interview, questionnaires, and time study, and the amount of resources consumed by each activity and their costs are then traced and applied to the laboratory tests. The main purpose of this study were to compare the test costs of activity-bases costing with those of conventional costing, and test fees of medical insurance, and to provide accurate cost informations for the decision makers of hospital. The major findings of this study were as belows. 1. The cost drivers for application of activity-based costing at clinical laboratory were cases of sample collection, case of specimen, cases of test, and volume-related allocation bases such as direct labor hours and total revenue of each test. 2. The profits of each clinical laboratory fields analyzed by conventional costing were different from the profits analyzed by activity-based costing, especially in the field of Urinalysis(approximately over estimated 750%). 3. The standard full costs by conventional costing were quite different from the costs computed by using activity-based costing, and the difference is most significant with the tests of long labor time. 4. From the comparison between costs computed by using activity-based costing and medical insurance fees, some test fees were significantly lower than the costs, especially in the non-automated fields. As described in this study, activity-based costing provides more accurate cost information than does conventional costing system. The former approach is especially important in the health care industry including hospitals in which planning and controlling the costs services provided are the key to maintaining a healthy financial status for the organization. Despite the contribution of activity-based costing the economic as well as technical feasibilities of implementing such a cost accounting system in an organization must be evaluated. In the development of activity-based costing systems, an activity analysis has to be conducted to identify activities that consume resources. This involves a detailed study of the organization's logistics and accounting information systems, and it is an expensive project in itself. Besides, it can be quite difficult and time consuming to identify and trace resource consumption to a specific activity. Thus the activity-based costing system should be implemented only when the decrease in cost of error far exceeds the increase in cost of measurement. By combining activity-based costing with standard costing, health care administrators can better plan and control the costs of health services provided while ensuring that the organization's bottom line is healthy.