• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.25-36
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to estimate income-related health inequalities among adolescent population across regions in Korea. Methods: Data of 8,456 adolescents from 1998, 2001, 2005, 2007 Korean Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were used for the analysis. True health status was proxied by self-rated health and overweight status. Per capita income was computed from household monthly average income adjusted by consumer price with base year 2005. Adolescent health inequalities were estimated by Concentration Index (CI) across income and space. Results: Ill health score was related with age (p<0.0001), gender (p=0.0155) and income (p<0.0001). Negative relationship between income and ill-health indicated that higher income group tended to enjoy better health and less overweight. These evidences suggested ill health were accumulated on the economically disadvantaged adolescents. The size of health inequalities (ill-health score) were estimated as CI=-0.057 and CI=-0.030 across income groups and regions, respectively. Comparable measures of within region health disparities were also observed. Conclusion: Since health disparity among adolescent population was small compared to adult population, lessening adolescent health inequality could be a helpful way of mitigating health disparities in later stage. Considering life stage of adolescents, school system and local communities could play important roles toward adolescent health distribution. Although health disparity between regions existed, health disparity within a region should not be neglected.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.247-251
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• 2013

Children from low income families are vulnerable to physical problems including obesity, asthma, hypertension and psychological problems including depression, anxiety. This study was done to identify trends in welfare policy for children from low-income families and future direction for solving health disparity problems. Dream Start is a government-sponsored project that offers services for vulnerable children, ages 0 (include pregnant woman) to 12 years and their families. The Korean Government has made an effort to alleviate health disparity through the 'Health Plan' by establishing health objectives. However, in spite of these efforts by the Korean government, health disparity has worsened in Korea. In order to strengthen family function as well as promote growth and development for vulnerable children, experts in child care need to be significantly involved in identifying neglected children in the community.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.186-194
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• 2008

Objectives : This study describes trends in the socioeconomic disparities in breast cancer screening among US women aged 40 or over, from 2000 to 2005. We assessed 1) the disparities in each socioeconomic dimension; 2) the changes in screening mammography rates over time according to income, education, and race; and 3) the sizes and trends of the disparities over time. Methods : Using data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from 2000 to 2005, we calculated the age-adjusted screening rate according to relative household income, education level, health insurance, and race. Odds ratios and the relative inequality index (RII) were also calculated, controlling for age. Results : Women in their 40s and those with lower relative incomes were less likely to undergo screening mammography. The disparity based on relative income was greater than that based on education or race (the RII among low-income women across the survey years was 3.00 to 3.48). The overall participation rate and absolute differences among socioeconomic groups changed little or decreased slightly across the survey years. However, the degree of each socioeconomic disparity and the relative inequality among socioeconomic positions remained quite consistent. Conclusions : These findings suggest that the trend of the disparity in breast cancer screening varied by socioeconomic dimension. Continued differences in breast cancer screening rates related to income level should be considered in future efforts to decrease the disparities in breast cancer among socioeconomic groups. More focused interventions, as well as the monitoring of trends in cancer screening participation by income and education, are needed in different social settings.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.49-59
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• 2022

The relationship between income inequality and capital account openness is empirically investigated in this study, where macroeconomic variables have opposing effects. Panel data used in the study from the KAOPEN Index and World Bank consists of 28 Asian countries and has been examined; it contains annual observations from 1970 to 2018. The data is examined using a random-effect model based on GMM estimates. Income inequality and capital account openness are positively and significantly related, according to our findings. Overall, the findings imply that increasing income gaps reduced capital investment in nations with large discrepancies. The growing economic discrepancy is being caused by the rich's increasing income share at the expense of the poor. In Asia, inward capital account openness exacerbates income inequality, while outward capital account openness exacerbates it. As a result, income inequality slows economic growth, leading to inflation, unemployment, and increased government spending in several Asian countries. Our control factors, GDP, and other secondary school enrolments, all had a statistically significant negative relationship with income inequality. Income disparity has a positive and statistically significant association with government spending, inflation, population, trade openness, and unemployment. Income disparity has a negative association with capital account openness, gross domestic product, and secondary school enrollment.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.345-350
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• 2007

Objectives: To determine the disparity in the rate people undergo health examinations according to socioeconomic position (SEP) and the changes in this disparity with time. Methods: Seoul citizens' health profile data from 1997 to 2005 were analyzed. The study subjects were 40 years old and over, and the total number of subjects was 6,601 in 1997, 8,994 in 2001, and 8,819 in 2005. Those aged 60 years and over were eliminated from the analysis of subjects' occupation. We used education, family income and occupation as indicators of SEP. The age-standardized health examination attendance rate for each year was calculated according to the education, family income and occupation. The odds ratios (ORs) from multiple logistic regressions were adjusted for age. Results: The disparity in the rate of attendance according to the SEP decreased from 1997 to 2005 but still existed. Even though the disparities among the subgroups according to education, family income and occupation were not that high, the disparity between the group with the highest SEP and the other groups was considerable. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that unequal access to health examination services according to socioeconomic position still exists. This disparity has decreased recently but the disparity according to level of education was the greatest.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.67-88
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• 2013

The purpose of this study empirically examines the pattern of regional disparities on the level of development in China's eastern, central, western and northeast regions for the period 1978-2012. To do this, it test Williamson's inverted-U hypothesis and Amos' augmented inverted-U hypothesis, focusing on polarization, polarization reversal, and spatial restructuring. Results of study are as follows: In the absolute economic disparity(AED) models of per capita income within a region, the Williamson's inverted-U hypothesis was supported in the eastern region, central region and inter-region model. The central region and the western region supports Williamson's hypothesis in the case of the relative economic disparity(RED). On the other hand, The inter-region model and the western region supports Amos' augmented inverted-U hypothesis in model of per capita income. In the urban-rural income economic disparity model, the inter-region model of AED and the central region of RED supports Amos' augmented inverted-U hypothesis. But the Williamson's inverted-U hypothesis was supported in the inter-region model and the western region in RED.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.10
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• pp.433-442
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• 2020

This study investigates the impact of fiscal transfer, specifically the Village Fund Transfer, on rural income inequality and rural poverty. Studies on fiscal transfer offers contrasting outcomes, some argues that fiscal transfer suppresses wealth disparity, while others argue that it tends to widen disparity. This study employs descriptive analysis in estimating the elasticity of income inequality and poverty rate before and after the Village Fund Transfer. It develops multiple regressions model on panel datasets of 33 provinces in Indonesia before and after the implementation of Village Fund Transfer. This study suggests that the elasticity of income inequality is higher after the implementation of village fund transfer. Rural poverty tends to decline annually, however, the elasticity changes is lower after the implementation of village fund transfer. Furthermore, this study suggests that village fund transfer is insignificant in coping with the issue of income inequality, while education and the level of labor productivity of agricultural sector appears to be the determinant factor in tackling the issue of income inequality in the rural areas. This study further reveals the significance of village fund transfer in suppressing the rural poverty rate. This study also highlights the significance of human resources quality and agricultural sector in reducing poverty rate in rural areas.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.275-301
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• 2012

This study analyzes the regional disparity in India between 24 states over the period 1980 to 2009. The traditional regressive and spatial autoregressive models are used that includes measures of spatial effects. The results provide no evidence that convergence is valid in India. However, the results indicate that spatial interaction is an important element of state growth in India. The result of spatial analysis excluded two outliner states reveals more strong relationship between the weighted spatial income level and the state growth rates. Moreover, the results find that the coefficients of spatial lag of initial per capital and error terms are significantly negative. The coefficient of variation measures that the distribution of state income level has diverged over time. Therefore, this study concludes that the growth of regional state income does not have a tendency to converge rater than diverge. The results is rational because as the Indian economy is growing rapidly, some states grow faster than the others while initial poor states become the poorest ones, which increases regional disparity in India.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.73-91
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• 2009

In this paper, we attempt to study the trend of regional disparity among Chinese provinces and examine the effects of globalization on the disparities adapting panel data approach. The panel data set utilized consists of the annual variables of 29 provinces during 18 years from 1990 to 2007. The trend of inter-provincial disparities in the 1990s with the expansive trend but the trend has started to decrease since 2000. The results of the China case study show clearly that the provincial international trade level and ratio variables perform on regional income disparities remarkably in all cases. It means that the large development of international trade do with increased among provincial disparity. While due to the large area in the provinces, there exist urban-rural disparities within provinces could be one of the main source of regional disparities. Therefore, along with western regions development policy various development policies against small cities are necessary for balanced regional economic growth in China.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.187-207
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• 2002

This study investigates the wage determination process of regional labor markets in order to understand the regional dimension of labor market processes in Korean metropolitan cities. Since the financial crisis in late 1997, the interplay between labor market restructuring such as unemployment and skill polarization and income disparity has been shaped by the labor market process in the metropolitan cities. This is also closely related to the fact that both industrial restructuring and expanding information technologies in the metropolitan region have reshaped the labor demand structure and finally resulted in structural unemployment due to skill mismatch and spatial mismatch and wage inequality across different occupations. In addition, since wage determination process clearly has a regional dimension, wage determination and its influence on income profile in a certain regional labor market need to be understood by investigating its labor market characteristics including labor supply and demand structure, industrial changes, changing unemployment, etc. This is why labor market policy as a regional policy needs to be redefined and it can be much enhanced by geographical investigation on regional labor market.