• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.1-31
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• 2007

Korea, China and Japan have been undergoing economic development, demographic transition and population aging, in a speed unparalleled in world history. This paper examines, for each of these countries, on (i) the trend and prospect of the effective dependency burden (EDB) in terms of stable population and (ii) the optimum fertility path which will lead to a stable population with the minimum level of EDB under the trend and prospect of decreasing age specific mortality rates. It then evaluates (iii) the transitory EDB costs of pro-natal policies during the adjustment process of stabilization and (iv) the effectiveness of other supplementary policies which influence EDB parameters.