• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.105-138
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• 2009

Although the decline in fertility rate is generally observed along the history of economic development throughout the world, the continuing decline hitting below the replacement level in Korea over the recent years gathered serious social concerns on the ground that it accelerates the process of population aging. The total fertility rate in Koreareached 2.08 in 1983, and gradually fell to the levels of 1.08 in 2005 and 1.26 in 2007. The policy debate over the role of the government has been focused mainly on the level of theoretical discussion without substantial basis on firm empirical evidence and the determinants of fertility. The objective of the paper is to empirically investigate the fertility effect of the female wage, which is understood as one of the most important determinants of fertility in Koreasince 1980 focusing on one aspect of fertility, namely birth spacing. Using the Korean National Fertility Survey conducted in 2006, I estimate a duration model of first and second births taking into account individual heterogeneity, which turned out to be an important factor to control for. Compared with previous studies in the literature on the Korean fertility, the study has an advantage of using the complete pregnancy history of women in a more representative sample. Unlike the previous studies, the analysis also deals with the endogeneity of marriage by treating a certain age, rather than age at marriage, as the time in which a woman becomes exposed to the risk of pregnancy. The study shares the common problem in the literature on birth spacing of lacking relevant wage information for respondents in a retrospective survey. I estimate the wage series as a function of the basic characteristics using the annual Wage Structure Survey from 1980 to 2005, which is considered as a nationally representative sample for wage information of employees. The results suggest that the increase in female wage by 10 percent leads to a decrease in second birth hazard by 0.56~0.92 percentage points and that the increase in spouse's wage by the equal amount is accompanied by the increase in second birth hazard by 0.36~1.13 percentage points. These estimates are more precisely estimated and of smaller magnitude than those presented by the previous studies. The results are robust to the different specifications of the wage equation. The simulation analysis based on the predicted values shows that about 17% of the change in the second birth hazard over the period 1980 to 2005 was due to the change in the female wage. Although there is some limitation in data, the results can be viewed as one estimate of the role of female wage on the recent fertility decline in Korea. The question raised by the paper is not a normative one of whether a government should promote childbearing but a positive one thatexplains fertility decline. Therefore, if there is a wide consensus on promoting childbearing, the finding suggests that the policies designed to reduce the opportunity cost of women in the labor market would be effective. The recent movement of implementing a wide range of family-friendly policies including child care support, maternity leave, parental leave and tax benefit in developed countries should be understood in this context.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.133-144
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• 2015

Recently, Korea shipping companies have been internally/externally difficult to manage their fleet due to the high price of bunker, wage and low cost of charterage and freight. To solve these problems, some shipping companies have tried to set up a new business regarding offshore plant supply vessel(OSV). Owing to the absence of big oil field near the Korea coast, OSV market has not been gradually progressing as far. This study intends to review the legal review of both international and municipal law for the OSV. Therefore I have provided basic legal information to the domestic shipping companies which have desired to enter the OSV's market and suggest legal revision harmoniously to identify the problem in the municipal law.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.81-94
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to identify the possibility of unemployed married women's economic activity by analysing their willingness to work and possible influencial factors on it. This study estimates the effects of independent variables on the dependent available by using Binomial Probit Model. sample are 592 two-parent households. The results of this study are as follows ; The percentage of unemployed married women's willingness to enter into the labor market is 25.2%. Among the variables which have affected their willingness are family variables(family size, the number of children and the existence of children under the age of 6), personal variables(the age, education level and the past working experience) and financial variables(non-wage income, Engel's coefficient, expenditure o leisure activities and the subject judgement of their financial status). It is hard to accept those women's low willingness as is since the most crucial statistically was especially the children of 6 or less among the family variables. That is to say, more favorable conditions of the labor market and inexpensive day-care centres available would certainly encourage married women to be more willing to participate in economic activities as employees.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.373-384
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• 2006

This study analysed the effect of mothers' work status on time use in child care and use of market child care services. There were two major questions: Do self-employed (and family worker without being paid) mothers have a flexible work schedule and so can they care her child(ren) well? If it is true, is the work status as self-employee related to non-market child care services? To answer these questions, 1,196 samples were selected from the Time Use Data of 1999, which had been administered by Korea National Statistical Office. Major results were as follows: First, a mother who is family workers without being paid made time to care children frequently more than wage earners. Second, according to regression analysis, mothers' work status was one of the important variables to explain child care activity frequency. Third, among categories of child caring ('physical caring', 'non-physical caring', and 'caring of the others'), mothers spent more frequently in 'caring of the others', and had higher probability to use market child care services. But the more frequently a mother made time in 'non-physical caring' for her child, the lower probability to choose market child care services. In conclusion, it was certain that self-employed mothers benefit from a flexible time schedule at work places. But the relationship of child care activity frequency with use of market child care services was inconsistent.

• Economic Analysis
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.39-64
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• 2020

Typical business cycle models have difficulties in explaining key macroeconomic labor market variables, such as employment and unemployment, as they usually consider labor hour choices only. In this paper, we introduce labor market search and matching frictions into a New Keynesian nominal rigidity model and estimate it by Bayesian methods to examine the dynamics of the key labor market variables and business cycles in Korea. The results show that unemployment rates are largely explained by technology shocks, which affect the labor demand side, as well as labor supply shocks. In addition, wage bargaining shocks originating from the bargaining process between firms and workers have non-negligible negative effects on output and employment growth, and careful measures need to be taken to limit their adverse effects.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.107-156
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• 2018

This article examines the history of the in - house subcontracting and the stabilization of labor - management relations in the steel industry in Japan. The ratio of in-house subcontract workers among steel workers has increased steadily until the mid-2000s, and about 70% in case of the largest company. In-house subcontracting was used as a strategy of the company to increase the quantity flexibility of employment and to save labor costs. The in-house subcontracting company needed company-specialized skills, and the internal labor market was formed because the rate of full-time workers was high and the turnover rate was low. The in-house subcontractor introduced long-term business relationship with the steel factory by introducing the equipment and materials necessary for the performance of the work, and the factory implemented the productivity improvement policy of the in-house subcontractor, and the win-win relationship between the factory and in-house subcontractor was developed. The trade union did not oppose the idea that the expansion of in-house subcontracting contributed to corporate profits, the stability of employment of the members and maintenance of their working conditions. Since 2000, the steel factory has pursued the transformation of in - house subcontractors into subsidiaries, which has been supported by capital relations. By the way, since the mid-2000s, there has been an increase in the number of regular workers' employment. The major factors are as follows: more strengthened compliance with laws and regulations, the higher quality request of customers, stricter keeping of deadlines, and problem in recruiting of workers at in-house subcontract companies. The wage gap between the factory and in - house subcontracting was less at company B than at company S, and the wage level of in - house subcontracting was about 90% of the factory at company B. The relatively small gap at company B seems to be due to the union's movement of narrowing the gap, low market dominance and unfavorable labor market. The internal labor market has been formed in the in-house subcontracting, and the wage gap is not large, and the possibility of labor disputes is low. Industrial relations are stable in the in-house subcontract company as well as the factory. The stabilization of labor-management relations in the steel industry in Korea is required to reduce the wage gap between the factory and in-house subcontract enterprises by raising productivity and expanding the internal labor market at in-house subcontract enterprises.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.47-60
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to analyze gender gaps in wage and job satisfaction according to skill characteristics and gender composition in occupation type. Most of the previous studies dealing with gender gaps in wage and job satisfaction have limitations in using a model at a single level. To overcome these limitations, this study integrated the analysis of worker level and job level variables through the application of hierarchical linear model. For the empirical analysis, the 20th year of the Korea Labor Institute Panel Survey and Korea Network for Occupations and Workers data used, factor analysis was utilized to derive cognitive, technical and physical skills. According to the empirical results, female workers in the metropolitan area showed lower average wage and job satisfaction than male worker. these gender gaps were alleviated in occupations which requiring a high level of cognitive skill, while deepening in occupation with a high occupational segregation. The purpose of this study is to derive implications for the policy aimed at reducing the gender gap in the labor market by analyzing the relationship between gender gaps in wage and job satisfaction according to skill characteristics and gender composition rates of wage workers in the metropolitan area.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.214-222
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• 2022

It is important to realize employment equality to fulfill corporate social responsibility. The most suitable indicator for assessing its performance is the gender wage gap. Korea is considered the country with the most severe gender wage gap among OECD member countries, however, studies on the gender wage gap have been mainly attempted to explain in terms of the structure of the labor market, government policies, etc. This study focus on the characteristics of CEO and HR systems among the characteristics of organizations affecting the gender wage gap. The management philosophy sets the direction of organizational decision-making and activates the system. In addition, the HR system enables fair and objective organizational management for members through rules and procedures. However, even in organizations seeking rationalization, minority people may experience discrimination. Moreover, the rational HR system may act as a mechanism to justify discrimination, contrary to existing intentions. This study proposes that in order for the rational HR system to work positively, it must be based on the management philosophy. In other words, it is intended to derive a mechanism that can alleviate the gender wage gap from the integrated perspective of the characteristics of the CEO and the rational HR system. In particular, it aims to provide specific implications for how the organization should operate the HR system by examining the gender wage gap based on internal factors of companies that utilize manpower.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.10 no.9
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• pp.387-398
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• 2010

Recently SMEs(small and medium enterprises) in Korea have experienced severe labor shortages. In particular, college graduates avoiding SMEs are widely spotted. According to previous studies, the main causes of the evasion by college graduates are the inferior working environment and low wages. Some studies also state that SME workers experience discrimination. However, most studies have focused only on unemployment issues of the young graduates. In this research, the results of follow-up surveys on the employment status and job conditions of recent college graduates was linked as a panel data, and the performance of the graduates was analyzed. Based on the analysis, we found college graduates who are employed SMEs are likely to have their initial career fixed to the SMEs. Second, the job separation records of the young SME workers does not show positive labor market performances such as upward movements or wage increases, and the process itself turned out to be entailed frequent separation. Third, the inferior wage level at SMEs and the fact that this effect is cumulatively amplified has been a key factor for evading SMEs. Thus, it is difficult to say that the early-stage careers in SMEs are constructive in future career development. On the contrary, the early careers at SMEs result in lower labor market outcomes, and frequent job separation.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.34 no.3
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• pp.133-186
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• 2012

This paper analyzes the effectiveness of social networks in finding jobs and estimates the value of job search network using the Korean Laber and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) dataset and utilizing the Difference-in-Difference Propensity Score Matching (PSM) methodology (Heckman et al., 1997). While the wide use of social networks in the Korean labor market is often perceived as 'nepotism,' this study confirms that social networks, by serving as an effective information transmitter between job search and recruitment, make a significant contribution to improving the adequacy of job matching in the domestic labor market. In order to verify the effectiveness of using social networks for getting jobs, this study looks into the cases of labor turnover using social networks and also not using it. In the aspect of individual satisfaction improvement relating to workplace and job duties, both cases of turnover turn out to experience an increased satisfaction by 2~3 points (on a 100-score scale). Meanwhile, as for the educational and technical adequacy improvement, no positive effects are found in the case of turnover without social networks, whereas the educational and technical adequacy improvement turns out to increase by 2.13 and 2.52 points, respectively, in the case of turnover using social networks. The effect of income increase through turnover using social networks registered 40,074 Korean won per month (as of 2010), which can be considered as the result from the improved educational and technical adequacy. Of all things being considered, the value of job search network per wage worker in the Korean society is estimated to be 18.72 million won in terms of life-cycle wage improvement, and 758.2 scores in terms of the improvement of working life satisfaction. Provided that the cash value of satisfaction score 1 is equivalent to 'n' times 10,000 won, the aggregate value of job search network is estimated to be 18.72+7.582n million won, which means the total amount of costs that a wage worker in the Korean society willingly pays to maintain and manage job networks for lifetime.