• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.17-24
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• 2023

Purpose - The objective of this research is to investigate how lowering labor market frictions for female workers affects corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design/methodology/approach - We utilize the staggered adoption of state-level Paid Family Leave (PFL) acts in the U.S. These acts provide significant flexibility for female employees by mandating paid leave for a family or medical events. Our study is based on a sample of 30,027 publicly traded firms in the U.S. from 1991 to 2012. We employ a difference-in-differences research design, considering treated firms as those headquartered in states that enacted PFL laws. Findings - We find that there is a significant increase in the firms' CSR performance following the adoption of the PFL, suggesting that lowering the labor market frictions for female workers encourages firms to invest in CSR initiatives. Research implications or Originality - This study informs policy makers that PFL enables firms to reduce costly employee turnover and results in an increase in CSR performance.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.47-83
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• 2017

The Swedish labor market secures flexibility in the use of labor force by means of non-regular workers such as temporary workers among others instead of regular workers' layoffs. Although the labor law reform in the late 2000s made it easier to use temporary workers and the outbreak of the economic crisis strengthened the power of user firms against labor unions, the size of temporary workers was scaled down. It is the aim of this study to analyze the change in the use of temporary workers, to examine the effect of the labor law reform and that of economic crisis in that regard, and to explain how, over the use of temporary workers, user firms' strategy to secure flexibility and labor unions' strategy to regulate flexibility interact with each other so as to establish a new equilibrium through conflicts and compromises. The labor law reform to enhance the flexibility in the use of temporary workers failed to entail amendments of collective contracts. Besides, out of the economic crisis, user firms adopted a new policy to use third party workers more, refraining from employing temporary workers. That's why the number of temporary workers has declined eventually. User firms prefer to use third party workers because they could avoid their own responsibility as an employer and they could rely on 'permanent temporary' workers without any time limit. Labor unions, however, responded with a strategy to lay more strict regulations on the use of third party workers, so that third party workers could be used only for limited cause for external numerical flexibility. As a result, the managed flexibility thesis comes to prevail to the usage of non-regular workers in general beyond the category of agency workers. Korea with severe abuse of third party workers should learn from Swedish labor unions' strategy to provide third party workers with stronger employment security and higher wages so as to prevent user firms from abusing third party workers.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.37-56
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• 2001

Regarding human capital development and the competitive advantage of regional economies, the transfer of local university graduates to the local labor market is a very important factor. This study aims to investigate the employment structure of university graduates and spatial patterns of their jobs, and the job search strategies to enter the employment system with a case study of Chonnam National University graduates. Because of the lagged industrial structure and peripheral location of Kwangju/Chonnam Province, the employment rate of the university graduates is generally lower than a national average. And there is a strong tendency of the concentration of job places on the metropolitan areas on the one hand, and on the Kwangju/chonnarn and Capital region of Korea on the other. University graduates in searching for jobs especially prefer spatial mobility toward job opportunities In other regions to promoting the flexibility of job qualifications to meet labor market demands. Based on the results of the study, we can identify a process of so-called train drains'in both quantitative and qualitative terms, and conclude that the role of the Chonnam National University in promoting regional development potentials and local labor market conditions is Quite restrictive.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.1-31
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• 2021

This paper estimates the employment effects among 55~59 years old men of delayed mandatory retirement act between 2016 and 2019. Although the positive employment effects appear to have reclined during the period, they have remained non-trivial and may have encroached youth employment. The results suggest that wages should be flexibly adjusted in the market so that labor demand can sufficiently expand to accommodate the increased labor supply among the old without hurting the young.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.425-438
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• 2013

Postponing childbirth is becoming increasingly common and consequently serious social problem in Korea, among married-working women. It is relatively unknown which factors determine married-working women's childbirth intention. This study investigated the effects of demographical factors, labor market factors and social support factors on married-working women's childbirth intention. Data from a national survey of married-working women (Korean longitudinal survey of women and families) are used in this study. The findings are as follows. First, logistic regression analyses that married-working women's childbirth intention could be predicted by 1) personal characteristic factors such as age (p <.000), education level (p<.029), parenthood (p<.000) monthly pay (p<.01); 2) husband support factors, such as satisfaction with division of household labor (p<.009), time with family (p<.049) influence of family life on work (p<.083); and 3) institutional support factors such as regular position (p<.015), regression analysis showed similar results. Personal characteristic factors and husband support factors had statistically significant effects on the number of future children. Personal value factors such as traditional family support (p<.05) proved to be the best predictor of the number of future children. Institutional support factors, on the other hand, did not have statistically significant effect on the number of future children. In a nutshell, personal characteristics and husband support proved to be the most important determinant of married-working women's childbirth intention. The findings suggest that family friendly policy and flexible labor market policy will impact married-working women's childbirth intention.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.163-196
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• 2001

This paper is a critical assessment of 'productive welfare policy' of the Kim Dae-jung adminstration and I tried to make several recommendations as alternatives. Quite contrary to concept of 'productive' welfare, which promotes less government intervention and more market-friendly approach, the Kim Dae-jung adminstration seems to have been moving in the opposite direction. As alternatives, I suggested i) work-fare rather than cash assistance, ii ) Employment Insurance Account to cover non-regular workers, iii) Medical Savings Account for minor medical services to reform medical insurance, and iv) enhancement of labor market flexibility by abolishing mandated retirement allowances in Korea I finally proposed the tuition and fellowship support program to the low-income group to enhance their economic status in a knowledge-based society.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.271-297
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• 2005

Since the 1980s, the western welfare states have experienced a wide spectrum of socio-economic changes; changes in population composition, the economic globalization, the post-industrialization, an increasing flexibility in the labor market. etc. This study examines the trend of poverty in welfare states, and analyzes how those socio-economic changes are related to it. For these purposes, this study first calculates the poverty indices for several years in 10 welfare states using the Luxembourg Income Study database, and then decomposes the index by subpopulation and income sources. Major findings of this study can be summarized as follows. First of all, the welfare state in general has experienced an increasing trend in the degree of poverty since the 1980s. In particular, poverty has greatly intensified in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Many other welfare states including Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Norway have also experienced substantial increases in poverty. The increasing trend of poverty is not wholly due to changes in population composition such as increases in the aging population and one-parent(mother) families. Contrary to the traditional belief, these population groups are not as much poor as the working-age population. In particular, the degree of poverty in the elderly is less severe than in the working-age group. Furthermore, since the 1980s the market income poverty in the aging population has shown a decreasing trend in many welfare states. The degree and trend of poverty in one-parent families vary greatly across countries, owing to the labor market and income transfer policies. The most important reason for the increasing poverty trend in the welfare state is that the degree of poverty has been deepening in the working-age population. Especially, the market income poverty of the working-age population has considerably increased in every country except the Netherlands. Structural changes in the economy and the labor market may drive the increasing trend of poverty. Further studies and deliberate anti-poverty policies are needed to tackle the factors relating to the increase in the market income poverty.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.25-57
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• 2014

Analysing the effects of expanded trade liberalization on the domestic labor market such as the flexibility of employment adjustment and the wage elasticity of employment etc. with industry base data, we get some important results as follows. The speed of employment adjustment in whole industries is turned out to be more rapid on the employee basis than on the whole worker basis. And the speed of employment adjustment is more rapid in the industries with high level of import ratio than those with high level of export ratio. In sum, viewing on the employee basis, the expanded trade liberalization makes the speed of employment adjustment slower slightly in individual industry level, and it is led mainly by the effects of export ratio rising. In case of the wage elasticity of employment, it becomes to be much higher as rates of openness or export ratios go higher, so the environment of jobless growth seems to be much more strengthened in this country.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.31-65
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• 2015

This paper examines why older wage workers leave their jobs and what determine the hazard of retirement. Major results are as follows. First, aged workers leaving their jobs because of formal mandatory retirement are relatively few in number and largely males employed in large establishments. Second, a higher hourly wage is associated with a greater retirement hazard, especially among male employees of large firms. Third, informal mandatory retirement puts a strong pressure towards retirement among older female workers. Fourth, poor health is the primary reason for retirement among older workers, especially for females and small-firm employees. Finally, reasonable hours and greater flexibility of work tend to lower retirement hazard. We discuss some implications of the results for old-age labor market policies.