• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.1-59
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• 2018

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a policy that supports low-income households financially as well as provides an economic incentive to participate in the labor market. Thus, estimating the causal effect of the policy on the labor force participation rate of low-income households is critical for the policy evaluation. In this paper, we exploit the variation in the eligibility to the EITC and the size of the benefit over several reforms of the EITC in South Korea since 2008 and estimate the impact on the participation in the labor market. Using data from four major household surveys, we find that the results are mixed; in some samples and specifications, we find that the effect is positive and statistically significant, while it is insignificant in others. The estimated effect is more likely to be positive and significant when we restrict the sample to the period before 2014. It is an important topic of future research whether the EITC's effect gets weaker because it is extended to cover the self-employed and beneficiaries of the National Basic Livelihood Security.

• Agribusiness and Information Management
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2016

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have always mattered in agriculture too. In day-to-day practices of agriculture and allied sectors, the farmers often share their information. Changing weather patterns, soil conditions, pests and diseases always throw challenges to small and marginal farmers. So, the farmer needs up-dated information to cope with and even benefit from these changes. In the developing countries like India, where agriculture still plays a crucial role (over 58% of the rural households depend on agriculture as their livelihood) and the rising population from 1027 million to 1419 million during 2001-16 (a total rise of 38 percent or 1.3 percent per year) pose a lot of pressure on land and other resources to meet the food security needs on one hand and to meet the challenges of globalization on the other. Understanding and addressing these challenges are very crucial, in which ICT can play a major role. With the booming mobile, wireless, and Internet industries, ICT has found a foothold even in poor marginal and smallholder farms and in their activities. The survey conducted among the 120 farmers in Srikakulam district in India revealed that, ICT has revolutionized the agriculture in the modern days. Production and marketing information is accessed by 91% of the sample farmers through mobile in 2015, where it was only 5% in 2005. The extent of use of mobile phones by the farmers varied with the decision to be taken by them like Harvesting, packing, and storing (94%), Selling Decision (91%), Seed purchase (89%), Application of fertilizers and pesticides (88%) and Land preparation and planting (84%), other package of practices (77%). The farmers further opined that, 'Voice' was the dominating source of communication (96%) compared to Short Message Service (SMS) (only 27%) and Internet access (10%), as majority are illiterate. The use of camera (71%), Bluetooth (33%), Radio (61%) TV (41%) are the other means of sharing the information. In this context of importance of ICTs in Indian agriculture, greater attention justifies about the applications of ICT's to alleviate poverty and promote economic growth of the farming population.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.1-29
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• 2002

The main objective of this research aims at analyzing efficiency of government financial transfers(GFTs) to the Korean fisheries sector, using the Linear Structural Relations model(i.e., LISERL model) and the field survey data. Most policies of GFTs tend to be implemented to protect industries with weak competitive advantages such as infant and/or primary industries. Specific policy instruments include income transfers, government loans with lower interest rates, taxes and the like. Fishing activities are made at a highly changeable natural environment of the ocean with a great amount of risk and uncertainty. Fishing households make their livelihood under the small-scale fisheries. Such fisheries and fishing households have also a relatively weak market power. Because of these fisheries characteristics most coastal states have adopted a variety of government support programs. However, despite such a huge government support, during the past several decades the world fishing communities have seen a tendency of continuous fishereis resource overexploitation. For this resason there have been hot debates over the government support policies for fisheries through OECD, FAO, WTO, and UNEP. In general, policy evaluations tend to be made on the basis of benefit-cost(B/C) analysis. However, the B/C analysis may produce results quite different from real ones primarily due to many unmeasurable effects. Thus, the authors composed simple questionaires and let fishermen, government officials and academic people answer the questions. The survery was made in several ways such as post-mail and personal/group interviews. In recent years, for analysis of policy performances and effectiveness, the LISREL model has often been used, which consists of structural and measurement eqquations. This model has a good advantage of transforming unobservable variables to observable ones so that it helps construct endogenous cause and effect relationships among relevant variables. The evaluation was done from the two aspects: policy results and policy effectiveness. The policy result evaluation showed that there is a need for improvement for policy problem perception and decision-making process, while the policy effect evaluation suggested that the policy goals were successfully achieved and social justice was improved from the perspective of the entire society as well. However, the research results showed that the GFT policies rendered little contrubtion to narrowing down the gap between GFT beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries incomes.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.42 no.6
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• pp.392-402
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• 2009

Objectives : The aims of this paper were to develop the composite deprivation index (CDI) for the sub-district (Eup-Myen-Dong) levels based on the theory of social exclusion and to explore the relationship between the CDI and the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). Methods : The paper calculated the age adjusted SMR and we included five dimensions of social exclusion for CDI; unemployment, poverty, housing, labor and social network. The proxy variables of the five dimensions were the proportion of unemployed males, the percent of recipients receiving National Basic Livelihood Security Act benefits, the proportion of households under the minimum housing standard, the proportion of people with a low social class and the proportion of single-parent household. All the variables were standardized using geometric transformation and then we summed up them for a single index. The paper utilized the 2004-2006 National Death Registry data, the 2003-2006 national residents' registration data, the 2005 Population Census data and the 2005-2006 means-tested benefit recipients' data. Results : The figures were 115.6, 105.8 and 105.1 for the CDI of metropolitan areas (big cities), middle size cities and rural areas, respectively. The distributional variation of the CDI was the highest in metropolitan areas (8.9 - 353.7) and the lowest was in the rural areas (26.8 - 209.7). The extent and relative differences of deprivation increased with urbanization. Compared to the Townsend and Carstairs index, the CDI better represented the characteristics of rural deprivation. The correlation with the SMR was statistically significant and the direction of the CDI effects on the SMR was in accordance with that of the previous studies. Conclusions : The study findings indicated mortality inequalities due to the difference in the CDI. Despite the attempt to improve deprivation measures, further research is warranted for the consensus development of a deprivation index.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• no.39
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• pp.287-314
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• 2008

This paper tests the stigma hypothesis and administration hypothesis on the illegal take-up group and non take-up group in the National Livelihood Security Program. A set of survey data, using multinomial logistic model, was analyzed for this purpose. Compared with the legal take-up group, the feature of illegal take-up group which has more workable household supports the administration hypothesis - the low skill of means-test office would increase the possibility of benefit fraud. The features of non take-up group support both the stigma hypothesis - the stigma prevents eligible person from participating in the social assistance program, and the administration hypothesis - the administration office is apt to make error to deny the eligibility of person who has supposed family supporters.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2024

Objectives: Presenteeism is known to be a much more economically damaging social cost than disease rest while going to work despite physical pain. Since COVID-19, social discussions on the sickness benefit have been taking place as a countermeasure against presenteeism, and in particular, farmers and fishermen do not have an institutional mechanism for livelihood support when a disease other than work occurs. This study attempted to examine the relationship between agricultural, fishing, and forestry workers and presenteeism using the 6th Korean Work Conditions Survey. Methods: From October 2020 to January 2021, data from the 6th working conditions survey conducted on 17 cities and provinces in Korea were used, and a total of 34,981 people were studied. Control variables were gender, age, self-health assessment, education level, night work, shift work, monthly income, occupation, working hours per week, and employment status. Results: As a result of the analysis, farmers and fishermen showed the characteristics of the self-employed and the elderly, and as a result of the regression analysis, when farmers and fishermen analyzed the relationship with presenteeism tendency compared to other industry workers, farmers and fishermen increased by 23% compared to other industry groups. Conclusion: This study is significant in that it has representation by utilizing the 6th working conditions survey and objectively suggests the need for a sickness benefit for farmers and fishermen who may be overlooked in the sickness benefit.

• Land and Housing Review
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.87-95
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• 2016

Housing benefits service that was implemented according to the National Basic Livelihood Security Act in 2002 has been changed with the enactment of "Housing benefits Law"(2014.1.24). Though the service was conducted for 13 years to improve the living environment of recipient households and create self-supporting jobs for low-income, there was a limit to ensure the efficiency due to variations in the administrative act and implementation in local governments. For that reason, the sales account and the profits of self-supporting enterprises and their cooperative in housing welfare sector that played a pivotal role had gone through many ups and downs and that is why the national coalition of self-supporting enterprises that were newly formed are forced to take self-effort and play a leading role for the improvement of future beneficiaries' satisfaction, namely to develop the level of service to keep the decent jobs consistent for low-income while responding institutional policy change and the demands for improving the home-amelioration system. Accordingly, this article has attempted to supplement existing research on housing-benefits service and determine how the field can keep pace with the new institutional environment. As a result, first, Central self-supporting enterprises provide high specialized-quality services to low-income families, second, central self-supporting enterprises induce to transition customized service agencies for improving the quality of residential housing benefits, Third, Housing self-supporting enterprises should correspondence with institutional change through the provision of explicit guidelines in relating to housing-service amelioration, the last, business practical process shall be accompanied by a consistent basis for innovative and procedural standards.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.101-111
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• 2011

The Returning Land for Farming to Forestry Project in China is similar to the 'The 10-year National Greening Project' of Korea, and is one of the great strategic policies that started in order to develop the people, resources and the environment by the central government of China. Using the ecosystem recovery as the slogan, The Returning Land for Farming to Forestry Project of China has a long history of 70 years, but the accomplishments has been insignificant when compared to the long history. The Returning Land for Farming to Forestry Project was not a trend due to the societal and economical issues of China, but with the increasing interest on the environmental protection in the late 1990s the extent of the ecosystem is gradually increasing. The most difficult, yet most important matter of the Returning Land for Farming to Forestry Project, is that it must consider the ecosystem with the economy. The farmers want financial gains in a short term, and the government aims is gaining cost-benefit over a long period which is why a rational the Returning Land for Farming to Forestry Project of the central government in China is most important. In order for the Returning Land for Farming to Forestry Project of China to develop further in the future, the standardization and distinction of the economic compensation policy is most urgent. Other than this, a new policy and the government interest on the livelihood of the farmers after the completion of the Returning Land for Farming to Forestry Project are needed, and there must be a clear and fair policy enactment environment so that the opinions of the farmers can influence the policy in the policy enactments.

• Journal of Legislation Research
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• no.44
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• pp.33-62
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• 2013

In this paper, the consolidation of ICT basic legislation and ICT special legislation concerning "Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning" and "Korea Communications Commission" which came on the back of governmental reorganization in recent years is discussed in the theoretical and practical aspect. Development of "data communication technology" innovatively changed the method of livelihood of mankind, the emergence of network under global dimension provided financial social benefit and posed a challenge and a threat at the same time. Form digital revolution human kind can expect to receive many important blessings. Nevertheless, there are many advantages of development of technology by digital revolution, cyberspace like online media, internet etc. has realistically many problems that must be solved. To maximum positive aspects like the expansion of freedom of expression and creating plan of economy by the advance of transmission technology is needed. And to minimize side effects of informatization is required more. The First, Special Act on ICT has an adaptation in normative standardization to be fit in media convergence beyond convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications. Henceforth, there must be established a legal basis for the achievement of protection of economic evolution and freedom of speech in digital media, information, communication technology and content development. The second, the government action is to accomplish economic development and freedom of information in structural aspect of norm. Therefore minimizing normative problem by reorganization of organization remains clearly unresolved in politics. The third, Special Act on ICT must be basic law covering info-communications field, pay telecommunication and media contents field. The forth, from a technical point of view, net neutrality, conflict of interest for digital content and so on can be fixed easily. Special Act on ICT must not only pursuit of development of industry. Special Act on ICT and pursuit of enhancing quality of life of people and preparing program to promote democratization. From now on, we need to make powerful nation of information& communications technology and in information human rights protection field got to be one step ahead of others with reference to appear all the various aspects must be brought together in the discussion of legislation process of Special Act on ICT.