• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.113-136
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• 2010

Low fertility has become quite commonplace worldwide, and Europe has experienced below replacement fertility for several decades. In addition, lowest-low fertility, defined as period total fertility rate below 1.3, has rapidly spread in Europe during the 1990s and is likely to expand further. After the turn of century, lowest-low fertility started spreading in Eastern Asia. Korea's TFR of 1.19 in 2008 is lower than most European countries, although it is higher than the Hongkong(1.02) and Taiwan(1.09). The purpose of this paper is to examine the socioeconomic determinants of lowest-low fertility in Korea. In doing so, this paper discusses the effects of female labour force participation, labour instability on family formation and fertility. The data includes female labour force participation rate, unemployment rate, age at first marriage, and total fertility rate from 1980 to 2008. First, the economic recession hindered young people's economic independence and propensity to marry. Married couples were also depressed with uncertainty toward the future and avoided to have children. Second, the growth in female labor force participation had a negative impact on fertility, under the low level of compatibility between women's work and childrearing. Moreover, this paper argues that the rising cost of children including public and private educational costs is thought to be the main reason of the recent low fertility in Korea. Policy implications and some comments on population policies are also presented in the final section.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.137-143
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to propose an effective PR plan for government policies in order to make the people aware of the importance of the fertility rate by seeking strategies to counter the low fertility rate. Focus group interviews were conducted with 6 experts with high expertise in government policy advertising and public relations among advertising and public relations academics and practitioners. It was found that low fertility PR strategy raised the problems of integrated public relations and budgeting. PR message strategy was lacked a creative approach suitable for the target, and the media strategy did not reflect the characteristics of the younger generation. Based on these research results, an improvement plan for government PR to counter the low fertility was proposed, and it is expected that it will be used for policy making in the future.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.263-265
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• 1995

Blood plasma minerals and their effects towards the fertility in 136 cows randomly selected from 26 dairy farms in central Thailand were studied. An average of 8.60 mg% Ca, 5.97 mg% P, 2.45 mg% Mg, $85.9{\mu}g%$ Cu, and $160.9{\mu}g%$ Zn in plasma was observed. Compared to the critical deficient values, 24.3, 10.3, 11.8, 28.7 and 0.0% of the surveyed cows obtained the respective elements in plasma below the standard levels. No significant difference (p >.05) in plasma concentrations of Ca, P, Mg and Zn for the low fertile (conception rate > 3) and fertile (conception rate < 3) cows was found. However, plasma Cu of the low fertile cows (averaged $77.2{\mu}g%$) was lower (p <.01) than that of the fertile ones (averaged $91.12{\mu}g%$). Additionally, it is observed that 47.1% of the cows with the low fertility problem obtained plasma Cu below the 65.0 pg% critical deficient value.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.75-98
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• 2021

This paper compares three statistical models that examine the relationship between national and provincespecific fertility rates. The three models are two of the regression models and a cointegration model. The regression model is by substituting Gompit transformation for the cumulative fertility rate by the average for ten years, and this model applies the raw data without transformation of the fertility data. A cointegration model can be considered when fitting the unstable time series of fertility rate in probability process. This paper proposes the following when it is intended to derive the relation of non-stationary fertility rate between the national and provinces. The cointegrated relationship between national and regional fertility rates is first derived. Furthermore, if this relationship is not significant, it is proposed to look at the national and regional fertility rate relationships with a regression model approach using raw data without transformation. Also, the regression model method of substituting Gompit transformation data resulted in an overestimation of fertility rates compared to other methods. Finally, Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon and Gyeonggi province are expected to show a total fertility rate of 1.0 or less from 2025 to 2030, so an urgent and efficient policy to raise this level is needed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Information and Commucation Sciences Conference
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• 2021.05a
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• pp.496-498
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• 2021

In Korea, based on the high fertility rate before 1980, the total population has been steadily increasing, and since the mid-1980s, the fertility rate has fallen sharply and has fallen below the level of population replacement. The cause of low birth rate in the region is not voluntary rejection, but rather, it is necessary to find out the cause by identifying the structural causes of the local community from various angles. We collected local Internet news and local representative cafe data, where many mothers participate, based on the budget area with a very low fertility rate among various areas. Factors of childbirth inhibition were analyzed by using the frequency of concurrent words that became issues related to population decline, low birthrate, and child-rearing welfare.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.215-235
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• 2018

Policy concerns related to raising fertility rates are not only common interests among the OECD countries, but they are also issues of great concern to South Korea whose fertility rate is the lowest in the world. The fertility rate in South Korea continues to decline, even though most of the national budget has been spent on measures to address this and many studies have been conducted on the increase in the fertility rates. In this regard, this study aims to verify the effectiveness of the detailed factors affecting the fertility rate that have been discussed in the previous studies on fertility rates, and to investigate the overall trend toward enhancing the quality of life and increasing the fertility rate through macroscopic and structural studies under the recognition of problems related to the policy approaches through the case studies of the European countries. Toward this end, this study investigated if a high quality of life in advanced countries contributes to the increase in the fertility rate, which country serves as a state model that has a high quality of life and a high fertility rate, and what kind of social and policy environment does the country have with regard to childbirth. The analysis of the OECD Better Life Index (BLI) and CIA fertility rate data showed that the countries whose people enjoy a high quality of life do not necessarily have high fertility rates. In addition, under the recognition that a country with a high quality of life and a high birth rate serves as a state model that South Korea should aim for, the social characteristics of Iceland, Ireland, and New Zealand, which turned out to have both a high quality of life and a high fertility rate, were compared with those of Germany, which showed a high quality of life but a low fertility rate. According to the comparison results, the three countries that were mentioned showed higher awareness of gender equality; therefore, the gender wage gap was small. It was also confirmed that the governments of these countries support various policies that promote both parents sharing the care of their children. In Germany, on the other hand, the gender wage gap was large and the fertility rate was low. In a related move, however, the German government has made active efforts to a paradigm shift toward gender equality. The fertility rate increases when the synergy lies in the relationship between parents and children; therefore, awareness about gender equality should be firmly established both at home and in the labor market. For this reason, the government is required to provide support for the childbirth and rearing environment through appropriate family policies, and exert greater efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the relevant systems rather than simply promoting a system construction. Furthermore, it is necessary to help people in making their own childbearing decisions during the process of creating a better society by changing the national goal from 'raising the fertility rate' to 'creating a healthy society made of happy families'

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.59-70
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• 2016

This study aimed to find effective policies to cope with low birth rate in local authorities. It was analyzed the variables-a number of child-care facilities, paid parental leave, labor force participation, and total working hours-using panel analysis from 2005 to 2014. The results were as follows. First, after testing the whole years, we found that the fittest model was the fixed-effects model of 2 models(fixed-effects model, random effects model). A number of child-care facilities had positive effects, and a number of child-care facilities, and total working hours in women influenced negative effects on total fertility rate. Second, during the former time and the period of plan for low birth rate and aging society, a number of child-care facilities influenced negative effects on total fertility rate. Third, a number of child-care facilities had negative effects on total fertility rate in Busan, Daegu, and Kwangju. Paid parental leave influenced positively on total fertility rate in 5 cities and a province. Women's total working hours were a significant variable of total fertility rate in Jeju. This study found that the variables which influenced on total fertility rate were different by local authorities, and a number of child-care facilities and paid parental leave were very important variables on total fertility rate.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.233-239
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• 2018

A rapid decrease of total fertility rate to 1.08 in 2005 prompted the Korean government to plan and implement a '5-year plan for ageing society and population policy' starting from 2006. The 1st and 2nd 5-year plans had not shown any discernible impact on the fertility and the 3rd 5-year plan was launched in 2016. However, the fertility rate is going down further. The author reviewed the contents and assessment reports of the fertility promotion plan to suggest ideas for complementing the shortcomings of it. Author defined the major determinants of marriage and child birth as philosophy, politics, sense of value, social norm, culture, healthcare, and education. The plan was examined in view of these determinants. Transformation of Korea from an agricultural society to an industrialized society in a short period of time had brought about changes in most of the determinants of marriage and child birth; in particular philosophy and sense of value. These aspects were not put into consideration in the plan. Author suggested to launch a social education program for the general public to establish a sound philosophy of life, reform the sense of value on family, child birth and education, and cultivate the skill to draw a consensus through discussions on the social issues. A special program to promote marriage of women at the optimum age for child birth was proposed. The government should implement well balanced policy for economic development and labor. Multidisciplinary approach was recommended for these tasks.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.139-164
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• 2009

The first demographic transition refers to the historical decline in mortality and fertility, as shown from the 18th Century in several European populations, and continuing present in most developing countries. The end point of the first demographic transition(FDT) was supposed to be a stationary and stable population corresponding with replacement fertility and zero population growth. In addition, households in all parts of the world would converge toward the nuclear and conjugal types, composed of married couples and their offspring. The second demographic transition(SDT), on the other hand, sees no such equilibrium as the end-point. Rather, new developments bring sub-replacement fertility, a multitude of living arrangements other than marriage, and the disconnection between marriage and procreation. Populations would face declining sizes if not complemented by new migrants. Over the last decades birth rates have been on the decline in all countries of the world, and it is estimated that already more than half of he world's population has below replacement level fertility. Measured in terms of the Total Fertility Rate (TFR), currently 34 countries have fertility levels of 1.5 or less. Similarly, Korea has been below lowest-low fertility for eight consecutive years since 2001 and below the replacement level for more than twenty years. In explaining the low fertility in Korea, some researchers explain the low fertility as revenge against a male-dominated society and institution, while others focus the impact of the employment instability. These studies share the basic ideas (spread of individualism, delayed marriage and childbearing, high divorce rate etc.) of a second demographic transition in order to explain the low fertility in Korea.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.41-50
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• 2024

Korea is facing a significant problem with historically low fertility rates, which is becoming a major social issue affecting the economy, labor force, and national security. This study analyzes the factors contributing to the regional gap in fertility rates and derives policy implications. The government and local authorities are implementing a range of policies to address the issue of low fertility. To establish an effective strategy, it is essential to identify the primary factors that contribute to regional disparities. This study identifies these factors and explores policy implications through machine learning and explainable artificial intelligence. The study also examines the influence of media and public opinion on childbirth in Korea by incorporating news and online community sentiment, as well as sentiment fear indices, as independent variables. To establish the relationship between regional fertility rates and factors, the study employs four machine learning models: multiple linear regression, XGBoost, Random Forest, and Support Vector Regression. Support Vector Regression, XGBoost, and Random Forest significantly outperform linear regression, highlighting the importance of machine learning models in explaining non-linear relationships with numerous variables. A factor analysis using SHAP is then conducted. The unemployment rate, Regional Gross Domestic Product per Capita, Women's Participation in Economic Activities, Number of Crimes Committed, Average Age of First Marriage, and Private Education Expenses significantly impact regional fertility rates. However, the degree of impact of the factors affecting fertility may vary by region, suggesting the need for policies tailored to the characteristics of each region, not just an overall ranking of factors.