• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.18 no.12
• /
• pp.494-502
• /
• 2017

This study examines how the Netherlands and Denmark lowered the increase in income inequality, at a period in time when income inequality in the world was deepening. This study investigates the level and trend of income inequality in the Netherlands and Denmark compared to those in Korea, the United States, Germany and Sweden. Using the method of the decomposition of changes in income inequality, this study identifies which factors are associated with the changes in inequality in these countries. It also explores which labor market policies mitigated inequality in these two countries. One of the major reasons for the reduction in earned income inequality in the Netherlands is the increased participation of women in economic activity through the increase in voluntary part-time working. In particular, the policies designed to promote equal treatment between full-time and non-regular workers contributed to the active participation of women in part-time work. Using active labor market policies, Denmark improved the proficiency of low skilled and low-wage workers, thereby alleviating the wage gap between high-income and low-income workers. Based on the experiences of the Netherlands and Denmark, this study discusses policy directions to mitigate income inequality in Korea.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.21 no.8
• /
• pp.478-488
• /
• 2021

This study analyzes the change in the contribution of the elderly to income inequality by using the Gini coefficient and the decile distribution ratio from the data of the Korea Welfare Panel Survey from 2007 to 2018 on economic inequality in old age. According to the study, the Gini coefficient of total income gradually decreased from 0.430 in 2007 to 0.383 in 2018. As a result, inequality decreased. Also, the higher the income quintile, the higher the income growth rate. Market income inequality has increased and inequality between public and private transfer income has decreased. Analysis of the contribution of income inequality to total income confirmed that public transfer income has replaced the role of private transfer income in reducing inequality over time. The expansion of public transfer income for the maintenance of basic living of the elderly is an important source of income for the elderly despite the crowding-out effect of private transfer income, market income, public and private transfer income, which are components of the income structure of the elderly, mutually complement total income. Therefore, it is important to identify income sources that contribute to alleviating income inequality among the elderly and reflect them in policy-making process.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.64 no.4
• /
• pp.163-188
• /
• 2012

This study examines recent trends in income inequality among the elderly in Korea. Aggregate income inequality trends are explained by examining evidence from inequality index decomposition by population subgroup and by income source. Data come from Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(KLIPS). The results are as follows. First, elderly income inequality increased from 1999 to 2002, and then decreased until 2008. Second, household composition changes appear to have disequalizing influence. The proportion of elderly people who are economically dependent on non-elderly family member or living with adult children has declined. Equalizing influence of private transfers also decreased between 2002 and 2008. These results indicate that the redistributive role of family has weakened over time. Third, the improvement of education level and changing occupational structure among the elderly household head contributed to increase in elderly income inequality. Fourth, earning's factor share has declined steadily, and the diminishing role of earnings provides equalizing influence on elderly income inequality from 2002 to 2008. Fifth, the impact of recent expansion of social insurance has changed over time. Inequality contribution of social insurance income increased from 1999 to 2002, and then decreased from 2002 to 2008.

• STI Policy Review
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2016

This study provides empirical evidences for the relationship between income inequality and economic growth, and relationship of income inequality with some of explanatory variables such as technological innovation, trade globalization, financial globalization and fiscal policy. We find out that income inequality has an adverse effect on economic growth, showing its dynamic features, for which we employed the polynomial distributed lags (PDL) model. The effect of income inequality on economic growth lasts over 9 years, and its dynamic effect peaks after 4 years. In addition, we also attempted to find out empirical evidences of sources of income inequality. The results show that income inequality is positively related to technological innovation, financial globalization, and fiscal policy; negatively related to the trade globalization. Many studies employ cross-country data, but it could have serious problems in collecting statistical data. Korean data is used over the time period of 1990-2015 in this study.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
• /
• v.8 no.11
• /
• pp.21-29
• /
• 2021

The objective of this study is to see how a country's level of democracy impacts the relationship between financial development and income disparity. We argue that political regimes, supported by their degree of democracy, are important for various decentralization theories to predict the impact of financial development on income inequality. Our study tests this argument using Vietnam time series data for the period 2000-2020 through the ARDL model. The financial development variable is represented by five proxies, the income inequality variable is represented by the GINI coefficient and the role of democracy is represented by the Freedom House Index. Data serving for the study is taken from data sources with high reliability. The results of the study have strong evidence that (1) financial development has a positive impact on income inequality, (2) democratic government will reduce national income inequality. (3) And a higher degree of democracy tends to mitigate the positive impact of financial development on income inequality. Thus, our study contributes to the literature by providing a new look at the mixed results regarding the relationship between financial development and theoretical income inequality. Finally, the article provides policy implications for the Government of Vietnam.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.43-51
• /
• 2015

Objectives: Socioeconomic factors are one of the significant factors explaining drinking problems in our society. From the poverty and inequality perspective, not only absolute poverty but perceived level of poverty or inequality has a direct effect on one's health and health behaviors. The purpose of the study is to explore the growth trajectories of problem drinking in Korea in relation to poverty and perceived income. Methods: Data from 13,414 adults were analyzed using 4 years of data (2010 to 2014) from the Korea Welfare Panel. Main variables included poverty status, perceived income inequality, and problem drinking. A latent growth modeling was employed for the analysis. Results: The non-poverty group had higher initial level of problem drinking; however, the poverty group showed higher rate of increase in problem drinking rate. The perceived income inequality had no significant influence on the initial level, but over time, those with higher level of perceived income inequality showed higher rate of increase in problem drinking. Conclusions: Findings showed that poverty and inequality affect changes in problem drinking. Efforts to prevent and decrease problems related to alcohol should not only focus on changing individuals' behavior but also on decreasing the inequality gap.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.109 no.1
• /
• pp.99-108
• /
• 2020

Although the relationship between income and income inequality has previously been discussed, the present study applies a dynamic approach to analyze the specific relationship between forest household income and income inequality. For this analysis, a unit root test and a cointegration test were conducted to characterize the nature of income time-series data. After converting unstable time-series data into stable time-series data, a VAR model was estimated. Based on this model, an impulse-response was generated and variance-decomposition analysis was performed. These analyses showed that the effect of forest household income was relatively larger than that of the Gini coefficient, and that the impact of forest household income not only caused income to increase but also caused the Gini coefficient to decrease. In addition, the impact of the Gini coefficient had an impact on reducing forest household income and further increasing income inequality. We conclude that, with the aim of alleviating the inequality of forest household income, an income growth policy would be more effective than an income distribution policy.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
• /
• v.106 no.4
• /
• pp.497-508
• /
• 2017

This study conducted to examine about the income inequality and bi-polarization for forestry household. For this purpose, Gini coefficient and Atkinson index were used to analyze the income inequality for forestry household. Also, DER index were employed to show their income bi-polarization. Before using these methodologies, forestry household income was divided into three parts that was forestry income, non forestry business income and transfer income. And then, income inequality and bi-polarization were analyzed respectively. The result shows that forestry household income inequality was higher than whole household inequality. Apart from transfer income, forestry household income, forestry income and non forestry business income inequality was aggravated. At the same time, these tendency was able to observe the bi-polarization for forestry household income and other income sources.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.165-172
• /
• 2008

Objectives : Despite various government initiatives, including the expansion of national health insurance coverage, health inequality has been a key health policy issue in South Korea during the past decade. This study describes and compares the extent of the total health inequality and the income-related health inequality over time among Korean adults. Methods : This study employs the 1998, 2001 and 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANESs). The self-assessed health (SAH) ordinal responses, measured on a five-point scale, resealed to cardinal values to measure the health inequalities with using interval regression. The boundaries of each threshold for the interval regression analysis were obtained from the empirical distribution of the EuroQol-5 Dimension (EQ-5D) valuation weights estimated from the 2005 KNHANES. The final model predicting the individuals' health status included age, gender, educational attainment, occupation, income, and the regional prosperity index. The concentration index was used to measure and analyze the health inequality. Results : The KNHANES data showed an unequal distribution of the total health inequality in favor of the higher income groups, and this is getting worse over time (0.0327 in 1998, 0.0393 in 2001 and 0.0924 in 2005). The income-related health inequality in 2005 was 0.0278, indicating that 30.1% of the total health inequality can be attributed to income. Conclusions : The findings indicate there are health inequalities across the sociodemographic and income groups despite the recent government's efforts. Further research is warranted to investigate what potential policy actions are necessary to decrease the health inequality in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
• /
• v.64 no.2
• /
• pp.185-212
• /
• 2012

This study examines changes in income inequality and income mobility associated with a transition to old age. In understanding the dynamics of income distribution over the later life course, it is important to explore the changes in income dispersion and the changes in relative income positions jointly. Data come from Korean Labor and Income Panel Study(KLIPS) 2nd, 7th, 12th wave. The results are as follows. First, a transition to old age is associated with an increase in income inequality. The Gini index of inequality increased steadily over the life course. Second, a transition to old age is associated with substantial income mobility. The Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between two periods was the lowest at the time of the transition. Increasing income dispersion and significant income mobility can be conceptualized as "income insecurity", since the older population are less likely to cope with income fluctuations. Third, in explaining such changes over time, changes in work life during old age and a subsequent decrease in earnings seem to be the most influential factor.