Measuring Inequalities in Terms of the Distribution of Urban Population

도시화의 특징과 불평등도 분석

Since 1962 the Korean society has undergone a rapid transformation under government policies to achieve maximum economic growth. Urbanization via massive rural to urban migration has been observed to be connected with a rapid economic development. Based on the data from the government publications such as Population and Housing Census Reports and Korean Urban Yearbooks, this study measures inequalities in terms of the distribution of urban population. In a historical context, the pace of urbanization during the period 1966-1970 was characterized as the most rapid and the urban-rural growth difference(URGD), which is a valuable measure of the pace of urbanization, was the highest. In terms of regional pattern, Seoul dominated the urbanization picture of Korea during the period 1966-1970. Its annual growth rate was the fastest among those shown during the period 1960 to 1990 and also highest. However, Seoul's primacy was pulled down since 1970. The Gini coefficient, which is the most common general measure of inequalities in distribution, was the highest in 1980. Since 1980 it has continued to fall. As a result, it was lower in 1990 than in 1970. Despite lowering Gini coefficient, inequalities are still large. A concentration index also showed the same trends as those of Gini coefficent.

이 연구는 급격한 변동을 겪어 온 한국사회에서 도시화가 어떻게 이루어지고 있고 도시인구의 분포의 측면에서 불평등이 어떻게 이루어져 있는지를 살펴보고 있다. 이 연구결과 1966-70년 사이에 급격히 이루어진 도시화의 성격이 부각되었고, 또 도농간의 성장속도의 차이도 아주 높았음이 드러났다. 무엇보다도 서울의 수위도시성이 명백히 드러났다. 하지만 서울의 수위도시성은 1970년이래 서서히 감소되기 시작했고, 불평등지수인 지니계수를 통해 검증한 결과 1970년에 비해 1990년의 도시인구분포의 불평등성은 완화된 것으로 보이나, 여전히 큰 불평등이 존재하고 있다.