• Korean System Dynamics Review
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.51-74
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• 2014

Over the past few years Korea has achieved rapid economic growth, while the deepening polarization of income has negatively affected Korea economy and society. It can be the reason of this negative effect on economy that the increased income by the economic growth has not been distributed socially, but overly focused on one part of social class. One of the important and powerful solution of social polarization could be the strengthening of the income distribution. In these circumstances, the social interest and discussion on the universal welfare system and on the basic income as the means of income redistribution have been increasing. In this study, a system dynamic analysis was conducted to find how an universal cash payment as basic income providing cash benefits impacts on the promotion of consumption in private sector, of local jobs and of local economic organizations. Recently, the poor energy consumption ability of energy poverty became one of the social problems. Also it was analysed how an energy payment-in-kind as basic income influences on the energy consumption of the region, the energy production capacity, the promotion of local energy. The universal cash payment and energy payment-in-kind as the basic income policy showed similar and positive effects on the local economy system and on the local energy system respectively.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.3-35
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• 2018

This article critically reviews the arguments that deny the financial feasbility and effectiveness of universal basic income as an alternative to existing social security systems and makes some suggestions to design effective and efficient basic income schemes. Regarding the financial feasibility of universal basic income, I argue that replacement of the existing regressive tax expenditures with universal basic income without raising tax rates can effectively reduce tax burden or provide income support to a majority of people except the rich. Addition of basic income to the tax base and reduction of the number of beneficiaries of public assistance and the amount of cash payment for them can further help save money. Regarding the redistributive effect, I note that the targeting ability of the existing social security systems is not good and that "the paradox of redistribution" that universal-type programs tend to be more redistributive than selective programs applies to universal basic income as well. I demonstrate significant redistributive effect of a hypothetical revenue-neutral basic income scheme and reviews several empirical studies done in Korea and abroad to show that basic income can be more effective in redistribution than social insurances or public assistance programs. Lastly, I emphasize the need to construct a reliable tax-benefit microsimulation model to help researchers to study redistributive effects of basic income schemes and other taxes and social policies.

• Journal of Labour Economics
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.57-77
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• 2017

To prevent the disincentive of labor supply under the current welfare system, we suggest the safety income system, a Korean version of negative income tax. Under the proposed system, for example, a household with four members whose annual income is less than 50 million wons will get financial support from the government. Under the safety income system, labor supply increases and so does the gross domestic product. The disposable income of low-income households increases, which alleviates the income gap among households. Analyzing the Household Income and Expenditure Survey data, we show that under the safety income system the disposable income differentials among households are reduced much more than under the current welfare system or under the universal basic income system.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.71-96
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• 2018

Globalization, deindustrialization, and the revolutionary development of technology has led to the concerns that existing social policies might not be fit for the current and upcoming society. At the same time, the idea of universal basic income has drawn significant attentions as the alternative to the old welfare state. There are pros and cons of basic income, and scholars of both sides stand against each other with their equivalently strong logics. In this situation, some governments have planned or conducted field experiments in order to estimate the causal effects of basic income. This study explores the Finnish and Dutch basic income experiments in methodological perspective. All the World have been watching the experiments in these two countries with keen interest. The results of these experiments will surely influence on the pros and cons of basic income in numerous countries, including South Korea. It is important to precisely figure out the methodological meanings and limitations of the experiments, for the experiments in both countries deal with only some partial components of basic income and have been exposed to many threats to internal validity. Therefore, scholars for and against basic income should be careful in interpreting the findings from these experiments. This study elucidate the methodological meanings and limitations of the Finnish and Dutch basic income experiments. Furthermore, this study extracts some lessons from these experiments that would be useful if scholars would have an opportunity to design and conduct a basic income experiment in South Korea.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.5-16
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• 2021

Both access to healthcare services and income security in case of personal illness are being needed to achieve universal health coverage, which is enshrined in the human rights to health and social security and international standards on social protection. Income security acts on both the social determinants and the adverse consequences of ill health and thus would break the vicious disease-poverty cycle. The government is supposed to implement a demonstration project of sickness benefit in 2022 and to publicize its more specific blueprint for all workers. This study is to suggest basic principles and a framework to design a new sickness benefit for universal health coverage, which is based on reviews on previous studies, related issues, and institutional conditions. This is to provide a theoretical basis to promote further discussion and to support its decision-making.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.185-212
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• 2010

This study simulates the effects of basic income on income redistribution in Korea, and compares the redistribution effects of basic income models with the effect of the current welfare system. Using the Korea Welfare Panel Study(2008), absolute/relative poverty rate, poverty gap ratio, gini coefficients are measured. As a result of simulation, the basic income models reduced poverty more effectively than the current system. And among the three basic income models, the basic income model combined with flat-rate tax reduced poverty more effectively. And the basic income model combined with progressive tax reduced inequality more effectively. The results of the study reported in this paper confirm the paradox of redistribution which suggest that the effect of universal welfare program on redistribution is the most noticeable.

• 사회경제평론
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.203-237
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• 2018

This paper critically studies Meidner's wage-earner funds project. On the basis of this, this paper intends to create new prospects for a universal welfare regime. From the perspective of the welfare system, the funds project is a correction or supplement of the Swedish welfare system of the Swedish model centered on 'redistribution'. However, the funds project shares the ideology of Swedish model and its fundamental premise, I.e. guild socialism and labor-centrism. This paper discusses the limitations of the funds project resulting from this, especially with regard to its three purposes: equalization of property distribution, economic democracy and the correction of excess profit. It then highlights that the alternative to overcome the limitations of the funds project and the Swedish universal welfare system should be based on a new ideology and fundamental premise that is cut off from guild socialism and labor centrism. As an alternative fulfilling this, this paper focuses on theories that suggest that the Common Wealth Fund should be created and basic income should be implemented in the form of dividends as its dividend. As a result, Commons Capital Stock and the basic income as its dividend are presented as alternative prospects for the funds project.

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.45-70
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• 2018

After critically assessing the effectiveness of basic income as an alternative to the existing social security system, this article argues that basic income is fundamentally incapable of providing an adequate protection for those in social risks or welfare needs. The proponents of basic income often claims that technological innovations will lead to the end of work and thus that basic income will be required for all citizens in the future. Moreover, they emphasize that labor market flexibility is making a large segment of work forces unstable working poor, what is often called the precariat who are not effectively protected by the existing social insurance programs. For them, basic income is the best source of social protection for the precariat of today and the citizens in the future, freeing them from the necessity of having a paid work. This article, however, points out the ineffectiveness of basic income as social protection due to its unustainably high cost that comes from unconditional benefit provisions regardless of levels of income, social risks, and welfare needs. Also it challenges the simplified 'Luddites' image of workless society in the future, arguning that techological unemployment can be overcome by new job creation as seen in Silicon Valley and job sharing following working time reduction. It maintains that it is more cost-effective and reliable to strengthen the welfare state based on the principle of reciprocity that aims at 'universal sufficient protection for those in social risks and welfare needs.'

• 한국사회정책
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.37-71
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• 2018

Since 2016, public and political interest on basic income has been increased beyond academic interest. The recent debate on basic income has expanded on issues regarding to the concrete implementation of basic income moving further than the debate on conception of the basic income in the abstract level. This study examines major critiques of basic income which was raised from social policy area and makes a counter-argument on these critiques. Major points summarized as follows. First, the problem of jobs and social insurance exclusion is not serious enough to call for basic income. Second, existing social security systems will be crowded out by excessive financial burden if basic income is introduced. Third, policies to cultivate citizens' capacities to cope with a technological change should be given priority over basic income. This study disputes these critiques by counter arguing four points. First, it is necessary to reconstruct welfare state based on basic income, given the labor market changes, such as long-term trend of employment change, newly emerging employment of platform companies, and inconsistency of platform labor and social insurance. Second, hypothesis of crowding-out effect on social security system is just a criticism that can be applied to the basic income initiative of the right-wing. Also, it is unable to find a logical basis or evidence of this hypothesis from the historical process of welfare state development or previous studies. Third, it is necessary to discuss how to reconfigure existing social security system and basic income which are complementary to each other and also have consistency with labor market as a configuration, not as a matter of choosing between basic income and social security system. Fourth, de-laborization does not mean a refusal to labor but a free choice, and the basic principle of social security is not needs but right. In conclusion, in order to develop more productive debate on basic income, it requires more sophisticated discussion and criticism from the point of view of the distributive justice; the debate on the sustainability of social insurance-centered welfare states; and debates on the political realization of basic income.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.50
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• pp.235-263
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• 2002

The present study is designed to explore restructuring direction of the old-age income maintenance system and development direction of the Seniority Pension Scheme(SPS) in Korea. While the SPS is trifling scheme with tiny benefit amount and small budget, the SPS has important role that function as only public income maintenance scheme for both the low income class and the excluded from public pension and public assistance at present stage because of immature National Pension. This study starts with the research question why serious mis-matching problem between needs and resources in old-age income maintenance system occur. Thus this study explores fundamental change direction of the old-age income maintenance system which is coincide with further situation change(demography, labour market, family structure). Also this study explores desirable SPS's development direction as taking into account relation with other public old-age income maintenance system. This paper suggests basic direction of old-age income maintenance system as follows: principle of universal and individual security; principle of sustainability; principle of equity. Under general principle, this paper also proposes largely two development scenario of the SPS. The one is to maintain present transitional and provisional scheme with trying scheme's substantiality. The other is to change into permanent old-age income maintenance scheme for the excluded public pension and public assistance. At this point it is the public pension's role that the SPS's development direction is determined. If the public pension keep one pension per one earner as present system, non-contribution pension as present SPS should maintain continuously. However, if the public pension reorganize into basic pension of one pension per one person and earning-related pension, the SPS should be managed temporarily until mature of public pension. Therefore whether the public pension play basic security role for all elderly or not will determine the SPS development direction.