• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.73-102
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• 2008

This paper investigates the possibility that children in school limit their mothers' labor supply. The theoretical background for the possibility is that mothers may choose to stay home if their time and monetary inputs on children's quality investment are poor substitutes for each other. The empirical findings suggest that labor supply of highly educated women and those with high household income is relatively suppressed by their children in school.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.9 no.7
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• pp.43-52
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• 2018

Purpose - The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of children's age on maternal labor supply in Korea using survival analysis. Specifically, we focus on the career re-interruption of women having children under age 12, which has rarely been studied in the existing literature. Research design, data, and methodology - We use micro data from the Korea Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) surveyed from 1998 to 2016. Instead of using a pre-school child dummy or the number of young children as an explanatory variable, 9 children's age dummies are included to capture the effect of nurturing 0 to 9 years old children. This study estimates the hazard of a woman's exiting the labor market after her first experience of the career interruption, rather than the hazard of the first career interruption itself. A Cox proportional hazard model is applied to numerically capture the impact of children's age on behavioral changes in maternal labor supply. The sample used in this analysis is women between 15 and 54 years old. Most of all, we restrict the sample to women who had at least a child between 0 and 12 years old at the time of quitting their jobs. Results - The Cox proportional hazard model estimates show a strong negative effect of a 0-year-old child on maternal labor supply. Mothers with newborns have a high hazard ratio of labor force exit after the re-entry. The hazard of women with infants is three times higher than those with children aged 10 to 18. Additionally, the results show that not only newborns, but also children in the age of school-entry have a negative impact on their mother's labor supply. Conclusions - The findings reveal that children's ages need to be properly expanded and included when analyzing the effect of children and their ages on married women's labor supply, especially on women's career re-interruption. A large negative effect of 7-year-old children on maternal labor supply found here indicates that supporting mothers with school age children as well as pre-school children is necessary to prevent mothers from leaving the labor market.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.143-177
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• 2020

This paper investigates how the provision of full child care subsidy to infants and toddlers differently affected female labor supply and fertility rate depending on the level of supply of child care centers in the place of residence. Our results on labor supply show that the higher the supply rate of childcare centers in residential areas, the higher the probability of career maintenance for multi-child mothers who are more likely to be admitted to a childcare facility. The results on the fertility rate show that the first child's fertility rate has increased since the support of childcare expenses in areas with higher rates of childcare centers. In the places where the supply rate of publicly-funded childcare centers is high, the second child's fertility rate has also increased significantly since the support of childcare expenses. This suggests that the quality of child care is an essential factor in determining the birth rate. Our results suggest that the effects of child care support on women's labor supply and fertility rate may differ depending on the priority of entering child care centers according to birth order and the degree of quantitative and qualitative supply of child care centers in the place of residence.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.57-75
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• 2009

This paper provides empirical evidence on the impact of SCHIP (The State Children's Health Insurance Program) on single mothers' working decisions using recent CPS (Current Population Survey) data during 1999-2005. SCHIP are found to have a significant positive impact on hours-worked decision.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2016

This paper examines the effects of a universal childcare subsidy on childcare decisions and mothers' employment by using Korea's policy reform of 2012, which provided a full childcare subsidy to all children aged 0 to 2. I find that the introduction of a universal childcare subsidy increased the use of childcare centers by children aged 0-2, which led to less maternal care compared to that provided to children aged 3-4. However, the expanded subsidy had little effect on mothers' labor supply. Moreover, the policy effects vary by individual and household characteristics. The effects of the expanded subsidy are mainly found in low-income households and less educated mothers. Highly educated mothers and high-income households are likely to focus more on the quality of childcare service. These results imply that a simple reduction in childcare costs would bring only limited effects on mothers' time allocation behavior; thus, more attention should be paid to improving the quality of childcare services.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.59-91
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• 2020

The recent reform of child care policy is to give priority to double-income households in the use of childcare facilities. This study analyzed the effect of the use of childcare facilities on the employment of married women under the on-going reform. Using the data from the 19th and 21st wave of the Korean Labor and Income Study, the marginal treatment effect (MTE) analysis method was used to eliminate the selection bias in which the sub-population targeted for policy is determined according to the priority when childcare demand exceeds supply. The study finds that the employment effect of married women who use childcare facilities does not differ statistically from the employment effect of married women who do not use childcare facilities.

• KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.29-73
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• 2007

This paper evaluates the effects of the Basic Subsidy Program provided to families with infants cared for in private day care centers. There has been a discrepancy in the price and quality level between public and private day care centers. Public day care centers which receive government support in their labor costs are able to maintain relatively higher quality at lower price than their private counterparts, while the majority of children are cared for at private day care centers. To reduce the gap of the price and quality of care between public and private day care centers by improving the quality and decreasing the price of private day care centers, the Basic Subsidy Program was introduced in 2006 to the private day care centers. The subsidies mainly aim to improve the quality and the accessibility of child care, and encourage mothers' labor supply. For this purpose, the provision of the Basic Subsidy Program imposed prerequisites to the care providers including minimum wage and four major insurances for teachers, and child-staff ratio. I examine whether the subsidies improve the quality of care, help mothers balancing work and family, and increase satisfaction with child care from mothers' perspective. Since the outcome variables that measure the quality of care are difficult to obtain, I instead use the input variables for quality production. Child-staff ratio, teachers' welfare, and care environment are considered. The relationship between these variables and the introduction of subsidies is examined. The 2004 National Survey of Child Care and Education and the 2004 National Survey of Day Care Centers are used for the base data set. To reflect the outcomes after the Basic Subsidy Program, equivalent data sets for households and care providers are constructed by the KDI Data Analysis Unit. Using these nationally representative data sets, information regarding child care is collected. The findings show that the subsidies contribute to the quality of care improving the input variables of quality production. The welfare of teachers is improved, and the child-staff ratio significantly decreases. As a result, the usage of private day care centers greatly increases even though the price level rarely changes. However, mothers' satisfaction with child care are rarely affected by the subsidies. Although the subsidies with no eligibility criteria enlarge the recipients, the actual effects to increase maternal labor supply or to improve satisfaction is limited. Given this findings, I suggest some modifications of subsidies to raise the effectiveness of the subsidy program.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.111-136
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• 2007

The National Basic Livelihood Security(NBLS) System implemented from October 2000 has expanded cash assistance to cover the poor who are able to work in our country. Although the cash assistance for them has positive aspects of providing basic livelihood security for all people, but many scholars have also pointed out its negative aspects such as a decrease in labor supply among the poor. In order to provide policy implications for the cash assistance program of our country as well as the US, this paper examines the impact of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families(TANF) on poverty among single mothers and their families using data from March Current Population Survey of $1991{\sim}2002$. TANF imposes strong work requirements and time limits to recipients as conditions for cash assistance, which are major sub-components of TANF. Therefore, this paper analyzes TANF by looking at work requirements and time limits separately, not by looking at TANF as a single policy. The research findings show that work requirements significantly decreased income and increased poverty among single mothers. Although time limits show income increasing effects and poverty decreasing effects, it seems further studies on time limits are needed at this point. The research findings of this paper provide important lessons for welfare to work cash assistance of our country as well as the US.

• Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.129-164
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• 2017

This article is an exploratory study on the recent growth of short-hours part-time work in Korea. The short-hours part-time work has been rapidly growing among low-educated women over sixty, particularly among bereaved or divorced women, contrary to the expectation of the government that encouraged the part-time work by means of work-family balance for working mothers or middle-aged women who experienced career interruption. The short-hours part-time jobs are concentrated in social service industry, mostly elderly care service jobs, and their working conditions are extremely poor, mostly low-wage jobs with no social insurances except for health insurance. In this study, we discuss why the short-hours part-time work has grown so fast in Korea since the mid 2000s. Using various governmental statistics, we examine the effects of the labor demand and supply situations during the time period, the legal context that is related with the exempt clause of the labor law, and the institutional context related with the government's public job creation projects for the elderly. We suggest some public policies needed to slow down the growth of the short-hours part-time jobs and to elevate their working conditions.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.379-387
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• 2021

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the actual state of childbirth in Korean women with natural childbirth and the degree of damage to the perineum during childbirth. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the medical records of mothers who had natural childbirth at a hospital in Seoul, Korea in 2018. Data from 358 women with cephalic births at greater than 37 gestational weeks were analyzed. To determine natural childbirth characteristics and the degree of damage to the perineum, descriptive statistics were done. The difference in the degree of perineal injury according to obstetric characteristics was analyzed using independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance. Results: The mean age was 33.18±3.68 years, and 49.2% were primiparas, while 39% gave birth with a doula. The degree of perineal damage differed by age (F=9.15, p<.001), parity (t=19.13, p<.001), number of births in multiparity (F=3.68, p=.027), previous vaginal delivery in multiparity (F=3.00, p=.032) and birthing posture (F=7.44, p<.001). Having received therapeutic procedures (t=-4.62, p<.001), specifically fluid administration (t=-2.72, p=.007), oxygen supply (t=-2.76, p=.006) and epidural anesthesia (t=-2.77, p=.006) were statistically significant for perineal damage. There were no differences, however, by gestational period, doula use, water room use in labor, baby head circumference, or birth weight. Conclusion: Study findings suggest that support for older women, primiparas, and those who require therapeutic procedures may help to decrease the possibility of perineal damage during childbirth. As perineal damage was also associated with birthing posture, this should be considered when providing intrapartum nursing care.