• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
• /
• v.52 no.6
• /
• pp.355-365
• /
• 2019

Objectives: In rural areas of Korea, where public transportation infrastructure is lacking and alternative systems are poor, the elderly experience inconveniences in using healthcare, although their need is high. This study aimed to analyze the association between the convenience of transportation and unmet healthcare needs among the rural elderly. Methods: The data used were collected in the 2016 Community Health Survey among rural elderly individuals aged 65 or older. Dependent variable was the unmet healthcare needs, explanatory variable was the convenience of transportation. The elderly were divided into 3 groups: with no driver in the household, with a driver, and the elderly individual was the driver (the self-driving group). Covariates were classified into predisposing, enabling, and need factors. They included gender, age, education, income, economic activity, household type, motor ability, subjective health level, number of chronic diseases, anxiety/depression, and pain/discomfort. The data were analyzed using logistic regression and stratification. Results: A significant association was found between the convenience of transportation and unmet healthcare needs. When examined unadjusted odds ratio of the group with a driver in the household, using the group with no driver as a reference, was 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54 to 0.68), while that of the self-driving group was 0.34 (95% CI, 0.30 to 0.38). The odds ratios adjusted for all factors were 0.69 (95% CI, 0.59 to 0.80) and 0.79 (95% CI, 0.67 to 0.91). Conclusions: We confirmed a significant association between inconvenient transportation and unmet healthcare needs among the rural elderly even after adjustment for existing known factors. This implies that policies aimed at improving healthcare accessibility must consider the means of transportation available.

• International Area Studies Review
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.89-106
• /
• 2013

In this paper, we analysed the absolute and conditional convergency hypothesis and the determinants of productivity in manufacturing industries from 2000 to 2009 with 16 provinces and metro-cities by using panel analysis. In terms of convergency hypothesis test, the results show that both of the convergency hypothesis, the absolute vs. conditional hypothesis, reject the null hypothesis(H0) implying the labor productivity of the 16 province and metro-cities converged to the steady state equilibrium. Also, the speed of the absolute and conditional convergency for the 16 province and metro-cities are average 4.4% and 0.73% respectively. In addition, the results of the determinants of the labor productivity in manufacturing industry show that human capital and manufacturing location coefficient affect to the value- added per capita significantly, but government expenditure per capita doesn't affect to the value- added per capita. As for the total factor productivity, government expenditure per capita and fixed capital per capita are important factors, but research and development doesn't. Hence the government has to revise the balanced regional development policy to develop regional manufacturing industries for the vulnerable regions. Also, it requires more study regarding income disparities and productivity.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.235-260
• /
• 2009

This study aims to analyze consumption inequality of Korean elderly households. The justification for analyzing consumption inequality during old age could be summarized as follows. First, due to the rapid growth of elderly population, the intra generational inequality of older people will bring greater consequences to the society in the coming years. Second, inequality is more actualized during old age when income stops playing a major role and the everyday lives are based mostly on consumption activities. For analysis, this study used the 2nd, 5th, 7th and 9th wave of 『Korea Labor and Income Panel Study』. The findings are as follows. First, total consumption inequality of elderly households is gradually decreasing after the economic crisis. Also, the gini coefficient of consumption items representing modern consumption culture, such as expenditures on eating out and car maintenance is decreasing. However, the inequality contribution rate of such items is continually rising, indicating that whereas the elderly households in general are being assimilated to the mainstream consumption culture, the disparity between classes is continually expanding. Second, gini coefficient and inequality contribution rate of the essentials such as food and housing has decreased indicating that basic livelihoods in general has risen. Third, the inequality of education expenditure is increasing after the year 2000 which implies that the problem of education inequality in general might have an effect on elderly households.

• Land and Housing Review
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.1-22
• /
• 2024

This research explores the household and housing characteristics of young renters aged between 19 and 34 living independently in rental housing of non-Seoul Metropolitan Area (non-SMA) and to determine the factors of their housing affordability and residential environment qualities in two districts of non-SMA - metropolises and non-metropolises. Using the 2020 Korean Housing Survey (KHS), this study identified 1,191 unmarried young renters, and most were single adults in mid-twenties who were salaried workers with a bachelor's degree or higher. Also, many lived in single-room occupancy of non-APT housing for less than 2 years and rarely relied on social services. The findings showed that the distinction of local housing market between metropolises and non-metropolises forced the former to spend more housing expense (tenancy deposit and rental fees) than the latter. With regard to housing affordability indices (Schwabe index, housing expense ratio and rent to income ratio), most were housing cost-burdened and nearly one quarter were severely rent-burdened. The regression analysis indicated that housing affordability in both districts was positively affected by income increase and social services, and housing satisfaction in non-metropolises was added to its determinants. Further, residential environment qualities were largely divided into two groups of livelihood and urban infrastructure, and the two factors influenced residential assessment in both districts. Since young renters interdependently living had suffered with housing affordability, both income growth and housing assistance are critically required to enable them not just to reduce the burden but to ensure livability.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.360-377
• /
• 2016

Since after the 1986 economic reform policy(Doi Moi), the central highland in Vietnam has transformed into one of the largest coffee producing areas. The transformation had been supported by mass migration of ethnic Kinhs from the coastal lowland. It did not take long for the Kinh migrants to be the ethnic majority in the region. Meanwhile the growth of coffee industry entailed in socio-economic disparity, specially between Kinh migrants and native ethnic minorities. The disparity has becomed obvious not only between coffee farming Kinhs and non-coffee farming ethnic minorities but also between coffee farming Kinhs and ehtnic minorities. The previous literatures highlight the lack of human and social capital and the lagging modernization in ethnic minority societies. However, they fall short in showing the explicit processes why ethnic minority coffee farmers earn less than ethnic majority counterparts. With a case study of Dak Lak province, this research attempts to show the reason why there is income gap between Kinh and ethnic minority Ede coffee farmers by comparing their ways of producing coffee and selling their products. The results show that Ede's land productivity is significantly lower than Kinh's. It is because Ede farmers use less fertilizer due to the shortage of the capital. Also they often get into debt for coffee production and should pay it back right after the harvest. It deprives them of chance to raise earning by selling the coffee beans at a higher price.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.101-117
• /
• 2007

Recently, in the process of distribution industry's growth, distribution environment is changing rapidly by appearance of new business condition and strategy of multiple store. According to the intensification of competition, recently large discount stores are developing private brand(PB) products for the purpose of product differentiation and profitability. But after the economic crisis in 1997, young housewives and salaried man's that have rational and practical buying pattern become the core consumer's in the large discount stores. Hence low price strategy is not new things for the consumer's anymore. In addition to, acquiring new consumer, many discount stores are establishing new stores at the rural area. But they undergo hardships of establishing new stores at the rural area because of disparity consumer's behavior, income level and consumption's pattern among regions. So, when they try to establish new stores, they need to know consumer's behavior at the region. Therefore the purpose of this study is to analyze preference property for the private brand(PB) of large discount stores in Gyeonggi-Do.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.27-49
• /
• 2010

This paper provides insight into some important features of the intergenerational resource allocation in Korea, before and after the financial crisis in 1997-98. Data sets of three periods before and after the financial crisis (1996, 2000, and 2005) were used to compare the results. This research particularly addresses two related issues: i) the generational effects of economic crisis, and ii) the capacity of age reallocation systems to spread economic risks across generations. The results show tremendous consumption smoothing and resource reallocation by age, during and after the financial crisis. Private education and private health consumption decreased for children between 1996 and 2000. However, the decrease in private education and private health consumption was mitigated by the increase in public consumption. It appears that the public sector did not only mitigate the adverse impact of the economic crisis on consumption, but it also reduced the widening disparity amongst generations. Within transfers, the public transfers for the elderly increased substantially as the private transfers decreased rapidly. Finally, there was a big increase in the asset-based reallocation of the elderly. The increase in asset-based reallocation was mainly due to an increase in asset income between 1996 and 2000, but it was almost entirely due to a decrease in saving (i.e. an increase in dissaving) between 2000 and 2005. This suggests that Korean elderly seemed to have some degree of supporting system during the crisis, even without sufficient pension benefits. The increased reliance on asset accumulation will be critical in the long-run in Korea, as public pension funds diminish due to population aging.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.10 no.2 s.34
• /
• pp.205-213
• /
• 2005

A balanced regional development has a great meaning of economics in the fact that the People could enjoy the equal level of lift everywhere in the country by reducing the income disparity and economic productivity between regions, however as the our country was given Preponderance of economical power and development to the metropolitan area centering around Seoul due to a factor of politics, social structure as well as a national economic policy centering around a rapid economic growth, the unbalanced regional growth gave rise to great hindrance to a national development. Especially, the unbalanced 9rowth between regions gave rise to a sense of alienation to a citizen in a special region as well as a distortion of an effective resources distribution. therefore it was deepen a social discord to hinder the unity of the people due to always coming to involve social ,political affairs. The major contents of this study is to clarify relations between the economic growth and the balanced regional development to form a concept of a national development, and this thesis made disparities in population and convenient facilities between regions through change of convenient facilities of life, economic growth, and population between regions an analytic object to concrete the studies. Also, this thesis made a whole countw land an analytic object of spatial sphere. and it made a unit of ten years when the five-year economic development plan was achieved from the year 1962 to 2001 an otject of the time range of studies.

• Journal of Korean society of Dental Hygiene
• /
• v.4 no.1
• /
• pp.105-117
• /
• 2004

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of aroma therapy on anxiety and pain before and after tooth extraction. The subjects in this study were 60 patients who felt severe anxiety and pain due to tooth extraction. The experiment was conducted from January through March, 2004, by organizing an experimental group and a control group with 30 patients each. The experimental group was asked to keep wearing lavender-containing necklaces from two days before tooth extraction to inhale lavender, and no such an action was taken to the control group. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS 10.0 program to obtain statistical data. and ${\times}2$ test and t-test were implemented. The findings of this study were as follows: 1. Regarding whether or not the experimental and control groups were homogeneous, men outnumbered women, and the largest number of the patients were in their 30s. Those who were married were more than the others who were unmarried in number, and those who lived with their spouses under the same roof together outnumbered the others who didn't, as the rate of the former stood at 65 percent in the experimental group and 86.4 percent in the control group. They expressed high satisfaction at their spouses, since 45 percent of the experimental group and 31 percent of the control group did it, but the difference between them and those who were unsatisfied was insignificant (pE0.347). By occupation, the largest number of people in the experimental group, which numbered 16.7 percent, were self-employed, and lots of patients in the control group were government workers. As for blood type, type A was most prevailing, which recorded 43.3 percent. By religion, 43 percent of the experimental group had no religion, whereas 36.7 percent of the control group were Christian. The most common monthly income ranged from 2 million to 2.5 million won. 2. There was little disparity in past pain experience between the two groups before aroma therapy was applied. The experimental group underwent more pain (6.15) than the control group (5.78), but the difference wasn't significant. The experimental group (90%) experienced more anxiety and fear than the control group(83%), but the difference was insignificant. This fact showed that there was little gap between the two groups in anxiety and fear caused by tooth extraction. Contrary to earlier expectation that pre-anxiety might not be the same. little significant difference was found. 3. After aroma therapy was applied, 50 percent of the experimental group and 23.3 percent of the control group suffered significantly less anxiety and fear about tooth extraction(${\times}2$=4.59, pE.05). And the experimental group exposed to aroma therapy was less nervous(3.0) than the control group(4.39), and the gap between the two was significant (t=13.37, pE.001). Therefore, aroma therapy had a good effect on alleviating their anxiety. During tooth extraction. 73.3 percent of the experimental group and 93.3 percent of the control group felt pain. The former group suffered Significantly less pain(${\times}2$=4.32, PE.05). Concerning the extent of pain, the experimental group(2.53) found it less painful to have their teeth extracted than the control group(5.50), and the gap between the two was significant(t=5.89, PE.05). 4. As to the effect of aroma therapy on alleviating anxiety or fear, the experimental group(33.3%) felt that aroma therapy let them more relieved. Every member of that group was willing to use aroma therapy again in the future, and 86.7 percent of that group perceived that aroma therapy made a difference to dental treatment. The experimental group responded to aroma therapy favorably, as every member of it had an intention to advise others to use that therapy.