• Title/Summary/Keyword: household labor

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Rapid Rural-Urban Migration and the Rural Economy in Korea (한국(韓國)의 급격(急激)한 이촌향도형(離村向都型) 인구이동(人口移動)과 농촌경제(農村經濟))

  • Lee, Bun-song
    • KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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    • v.12 no.3
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    • pp.27-45
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    • 1990
  • Two opposing views prevail regarding the economic impact of rural out-migration on the rural areas of origin. The optimistic neoclassical view argues that rapid rural out-migration is not detrimental to the income and welfare of the rural areas of origin, whereas Lipton (1980) argues the opposite. We developed our own alternative model for rural to urban migration, appropriate for rapidly developing economies such as Korea's. This model, which adopts international trade theories of nontraded goods and Dutch Disease to rural to urban migration issues, argues that rural to urban migration is caused mainly by two factors: first, the unprofitability of farming, and second, the decrease in demand for rural nontraded goods and the increase in demand for urban nontraded goods. The unprofitability of farming is caused by the increase in rural wages, which is induced by increasing urban wages in booming urban manufacturing sectors, and by the fact that the cost increases in farming cannot be shifted to consumers, because farm prices are fixed worldwide and because the income demand elasticity for farm products is very low. The demand for nontraded goods decreases in rural and increases in urban areas because population density and income in urban areas increase sharply, while those in rural areas decrease sharply, due to rapid rural to urban migration. Given that the market structure for nontraded goods-namely, service sectors including educational and health facilities-is mostly in monopolistically competitive, and that the demand for nontraded goods comes only from local sources, the urban service sector enjoys economies of scale, and can thus offer services at cheaper prices and in greater variety, whereas the rural service sector cannot enjoy the advantages offered by scale economies. Our view concerning the economic impact of rural to urban migration on rural areas of origin agrees with Lipton's pessimistic view that rural out-migration is detrimental to the income and welfare of rural areas. However, our reasons for the reduction of rural income are different from those in Lipton's model. Lipton argued that rural income and welfare deteriorate mainly because of a shortage of human capital, younger workers and talent resulting from selective rural out-migration. Instead, we believe that rural income declines, first, because a rapid rural-urban migration creates a further shortage of farm labor supplies and increases rural wages, and thus reduces further the profitability of farming and, second, because a rapid rural-urban migration causes a further decline of the rural service sectors. Empirical tests of our major hypotheses using Korean census data from 1966, 1970, 1975, 1980 and 1985 support our own model much more than the neoclassical or Lipton's models. A kun (county) with a large out-migration had a smaller proportion of younger working aged people in the population, and a smaller proportion of highly educated workers. But the productivity of farm workers, measured in terms of fall crops (rice) purchased by the government per farmer or per hectare of irrigated land, did not decline despite the loss of these youths and of human capital. The kun having had a large out-migration had a larger proportion of the population in the farm sector and a smaller proportion in the service sector. The kun having had a large out-migration also had a lower income measured in terms of the proportion of households receiving welfare payments or the amount of provincial taxes paid per household. The lower incomes of these kuns might explain why the kuns that experienced a large out-migration had difficulty in mechanizing farming. Our policy suggestions based on the tests of the currently prevailing hypotheses are as follows: 1) The main cause of farming difficulties is not a lack of human capital, but the in­crease in production costs due to rural wage increases combined with depressed farm output prices. Therefore, a more effective way of helping farm economies is by increasing farm output prices. However, we are not sure whether an increase in farm output prices is desirable in terms of efficiency. 2) It might be worthwhile to attempt to increase the size of farmland holdings per farm household so that the mechanization of farming can be achieved more easily. 3) A kun with large out-migration suffers a deterioration in income and welfare. Therefore, the government should provide a form of subsidization similar to the adjustment assistance provided for international trade. This assistance should not be related to the level of farm output. Otherwise, there is a possibility that we might encourage farm production which would not be profitable in the absence of subsidies. 4) Government intervention in agricultural research and its dissemination, and large-scale social overhead projects in rural areas, carried out by the Korean government, might be desirable from both efficiency and equity points of view. Government interventions in research are justified because of the problems associated with the appropriation of knowledge, and government actions on large-scale projects are justified because they required collective action.

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A Study on the Development of a Home Mess-Cleanup Robot Using an RFID Tag-Floor (RFID 환경을 이용한 홈 메스클린업 로봇 개발에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Seung-Woo;Kim, Sang-Dae;Kim, Byung-Ho;Kim, Hong-Rae
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.11 no.2
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    • pp.508-516
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    • 2010
  • An autonomous and automatic home mess-cleanup robot is newly developed in this paper. Thus far, vacuum-cleaners have lightened the burden of household chores but the operational labor that vacuum-cleaners entail has been very severe. Recently, a cleaning robot was commercialized to solve but it also was not successful because it still had the problem of mess-cleanup, which pertained to the clean-up of large trash and the arrangement of newspapers, clothes, etc. Hence, we develop a new home mess-cleanup robot (McBot) to completely overcome this problem. The robot needs the capability for agile navigation and a novel manipulation system for mess-cleanup. The autonomous navigational system has to be controlled for the full scanning of the living room and for the precise tracking of the desired path. It must be also be able to recognize the absolute position and orientation of itself and to distinguish the messed object that is to be cleaned up from obstacles that should merely be avoided. The manipulator, which is not needed in a vacuum-cleaning robot, has the functions of distinguishing the large trash that is to be cleaned from the messed objects that are to be arranged. It needs to use its discretion with regard to the form of the messed objects and to properly carry these objects to the destination. In particular, in this paper, we describe our approach for achieving accurate localization using RFID for home mess-cleanup robots. Finally, the effectiveness of the developed McBot is confirmed through live tests of the mess-cleanup task.

An Analysis of Economic and Psychological Factors on the Forest Protection of the Mountain People in Jeonbuk Province -On the Economic Psychological Status Associated with Structure in Forest Production- (산촌주민(山村住民) 산림보호(山林保護)에 대한 경제적(經濟的) 심리적요인(心理的要因) 분석(分析) -산림생산구조(山林生産構造)에 따르는 경제심리상(經濟心理狀)-)

  • Lee, Kwang Won;Kim, Jae Seng
    • Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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    • v.36 no.1
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    • pp.38-46
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    • 1977
  • The purpose of this study are to analyze economic and psychological factors associated with the forest protection of the mountain people, and to explain the forms of the forest management by ownership classes, especially with forest in the production structure of the mountain villages, particulary from Aprial 1st to 20th in 1975. And the basis of the data for this study is to have been obtained by the sample of 462 households, in Jeonbuk province, which were selected by the method of Yandom sampling. In order to determine what relations there are between the forest ownership classes are independent and each of the selected economic and psychological factors, the chi-squre test was used. The findings may be summarized as follows; 1. The area per household forest land of the mountain villages farm families with forest was 1.4ha and are middle classes with the cultivated area, and manage their forest in favor of the forest fuel and the byproducts, which we call "Earn Ownership Management Form". As it is acomplished by the agricultural surplus labor, we can't expect the positive forest investments. 2. The expectation of the proceeds of forest investments seems to be high but 30% of them doubtful. And the mountain villages farm families with above 3ha forest area expect their forest investments to be positive and in future they have hope in the economic management from. 3. The mountainous mountain fram families reply to a small sums of capital and the control of after the fact on account of the negative factors of forest investment. But rural mountain villages farm famillies assist on spending too much money for the control and nexious insects damage. 4. The reason about illegal cut away was mainly their fuels problem and then most of moumtain farm villages was used to forest fuel in their fuel. But 57% of mountainous mountain villages farm families not having forest area, and 66% of them get their fual on the self-supply, and 66.9% of them get from public and nationat forest and other's forest. That is one of the big problems of the forest protection. 5. Above 66% of mountain people think that forest law is severe and 50% of mountainous mountain villages farm families think if usual. Especially ones not having forest area but taking advantage of forest among them think so. 6. Rural mountain villages farm families have comparatively positive attitude for protecting forest, but mountainous mountain villages farm families negative. Classes with above 3ha forest area have more outlook of forest protection. And the more such classes are, the better they can protect forest. 7. There are problem about operation and education of the forest law on the mountainous mountain villages farm families.

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A comparative study between Korea and the USA on the development process in retail trade & its changing locations (소매업의 발달과정과 입지 변화에 관한 한.미 비교 연구)

  • Jeon, Kyung-Sook
    • Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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    • v.6 no.2
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    • pp.21-40
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    • 2000
  • The retail trades in many countries have changed recently according to the high quality, diversification, and marked individuality of consumer needs. Under the continually competing system of the WTO agreement, corporations based in the USA and the EU try to raise their market share in other countries so it is inevitable for Korean retail enterprises to compete with them. This paper is aimed at contributing to the efficient growth for Korean retail trade from the analysis of the development process in retail trade and its changing locations comparing Korea and the USA. Retailers in the USA have practiced diversified marketing strategies considerably in order to survive in a rapidly changing retailing environment. American retailing, which has the most advanced marketing system in the world, has been of growing concern to marketing strategies in Korea. The following is a brief summary of this study. 1. Speedy and higher quality consumption is needed in accordance with the great increase in the single-family household and the female labor force participation both in Korea and in the USA. Senior citizens have become a new consumer group due to the aging population. In the future the retail trade will switch over to diversified retail formats and internet shopping as countries are transformed into information and communication societies. 2. In Korea, the former retail system characterized by markets and department stores has been greatly changed since the late 1980s with emphasis on high quality and convenience in consumption behaviors, with large domestic enterprises and foreign distribution corporations participating in Korean retailing. In the USA, retailing mergers and takeovers by major retails, bankruptcies, and extra-large shopping centers have emerged since the late 1980s. Recently, the USA retailing formats have been changed from the lower price-oriented discount types to the large scale theme parks. Much emphasis was put on entertainment, resorts, and convention centers. On the other hand, non-store types, such as the internet shopping, the CATV shopping, as well as catalog and mail-order sales are drastically increasing, although the proportion of their sales is low up to now. 3. In Korea, most of the retail facilities are concentrated in Seoul and the Metropolitan Region, and the distribution ratio of facilities came to 52% in 1997. The periodic markets, traditional markets which open on a periodic basis, are located mainly in Chollanam-do and Kyungsangbuk-do. The large-sized discount stores have expanded their locations to the over-crowded apartment complexes in new towns, located in the Metropolitan Region, and the large provincial cities, unlike the suburban locations in the USA. Therefore we needed to give attention to the locational relations in retail facilities between Seoul & the Metropolitan Region and rural settlement areas. In the USA, urban areas grew quickly with the development of the automobile in the 1920s, and the location of stores changed from a dispersed style centering around rural areas to a centralized one in urban areas. There is an accelerated growth for suburban areas, which have grown rapidly since 1950. As the membership warehouse clubs were introduced in the 1970s, the decentralization of location was more intensified. On the other hand, inner cities were revitalized by rearranging existing facilities to cope with suburban areas. And the location-free virtual retailing & TV shopping are also growing every year. 4. In view of the above, the continuous and desirable development devices in Korean retail trade are summarized as follows: First, the countermeasures against economies of scale, increase in retailing sales, and rise of a employment percentage in retailing are in need. Second, a scheme of lowering the proportion of food retail sales, and increasing a ratio of durable goods sales need to be worked out. Third, the original ideas are needed to apply positively information, communication and technology to retailing, to graft the traditional types on modem ones based on the social culture. Fourth, strategies are needed to strengthen the competitiveness of our retail trade through cooperation and chains of smaller retailers, the large enterprises participating in the distribution industry. Fifth, in order to realize the above, the retail industry, the administration, and the academic world should support the retail segment with concern and a practical strategy plan.

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Biogas Production from Agricultural Wastes and Residues in Tropical Region (열대지역(熱帶地域)에서 농산폐유기물(農産廢有機物)을 원료(原料)로한 멘탄가스발생(發生))

  • Joo, Yeong-Hee;Jeon, Yong-Woon;Calilung, Edwin J.;Elepano, Arnold R.
    • Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.325-335
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    • 1985
  • Biogas production from agricultural wastes were summarized as follows: 1. Biogas Generation Characteristics of Various Manures and Residues a. Gas yield from crop residues like rice straw, rice hull, corn stalk and coconut husk can be improved by addition of animal manures. b. Gas yield from coconut husk can be improved through aerobic fermentation for at least one week before loading in the digester. c. Gas yield from fresh rice straw is better than from pre-fermented one, whether alone or in combination with animal manures. d. Initial study has shown that fresh azolla can be substituted for animal manures in manurerice straw combinations and gas yield derived based on unit volatile solids loaded is actually better than for manure-residue combinations. e. Gas production is highly sensitive to substrate pH and becomes almost nil at a pH of below 6. 2. Effect of ambient conditions and other factors on biogas production in a house hold-size digester. a. Results showed that compaction of rice straw in straw-manure combination can reduce gas yield compared with loosely mixed straw. b. The effective gas production period extended to 70 days using freshly threshed rice straw and fresh cattle manure as feed material. c. Underground and above ground digesters with shade have relatively more stable substrate temperature than aboveground exposed digesters. This relative temperature instability may likely be the reason for lower gas yield for the exposed aboveground digester loaded with loose straw-cattle manure substrate, compared with the underground digester with the same substrate. 3. Economic Analysis a. Based on prevailing costs of fuel, materials, and labor in the Philippines, biogas produced from the household size system is cheaper than either LPG or kerosene. b. If other benefits like organic fertilizer, pollution control and convenience are considered, biogas will surely be the best alternative fuel source.

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Smart farm development strategy suitable for domestic situation -Focusing on ICT technical characteristics for the development of the industry6.0- (국내 실정에 적합한 스마트팜 개발 전략 -6차산업의 발전을 위한 ICT 기술적 특성을 중심으로-)

  • Han, Sang-Ho;Joo, Hyung-Kun
    • Journal of Digital Convergence
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    • v.20 no.4
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    • pp.147-157
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    • 2022
  • This study tried to propose a smart farm technology strategy suitable for the domestic situation, focusing on the differentiation suitable for the domestic situation of ICT technology. In the case of advanced countries in the overseas agricultural industry, it was confirmed that they focused on the development of a specific stage that reflected the geographical characteristics of each country, the characteristics of the agricultural industry, and the characteristics of the people's demand. Confirmed that no enemy development is being performed. Therefore, in response to problems such as a rapid decrease in the domestic rural population, aging population, loss of agricultural price competitiveness, increase in fallow land, and decrease in use rate of arable land, this study aims to develop smart farm ICT technology in the future to create quality agricultural products and have price competitiveness. It was suggested that the smart farm should be promoted by paying attention to the excellent performance, ease of use due to the aging of the labor force, and economic feasibility suitable for a small business scale. First, in terms of economic feasibility, the ICT technology is configured by selecting only the functions necessary for the small farm household (primary) business environment, and the smooth communication system with these is applied to the ICT technology to gradually update the functions required by the actual farmhouse. suggested that it may contribute to the reduction. Second, in terms of performance, it is suggested that the operation accuracy can be increased if attention is paid to improving the communication function of ICT, such as adjusting the difficulty of big data suitable for the aging population in Korea, using a language suitable for them, and setting an algorithm that reflects their prediction tendencies. Third, the level of ease of use. Smart farms based on ICT technology for the development of the Industry6.0 (1.0(Agriculture, Forestry) + 2.0(Agricultural and Water & Water Processing) + 3.0 (Service, Rural Experience, SCM)) perform operations according to specific commands, finally suggested that ease of use can be promoted by presetting and standardizing devices based on big data configuration customized for each regional environment.