• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.173-201
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• 2017

This study examined the degree of socioeconomic deprivation in the areas of material hardship, health, housing, employment, and social network among people using debt relief programs. The sample, 209 individuals, was recruited from major agencies offering debt relief programs, including Seoul Bankruptcy Court, Credit Counseling and Recovery Service, and Seoul Welfare Foundation. Data were collected through in-person interviews in 2016. The sample was compared in terms of the level of deprivation with the general population and the low-income group, extracted from the Korea Welfare Panel Study. The debtors group demonstrated a substantially higher level of deprivation on all the dimensions examined. For example, the proportion of people who suffered from hunger was 37.8% in the debtors group compared to 6.7% in the low-income group. The proportion of people who had suicidal ideation in the last 12 months was 57.9% compared to 19.2% in the low-income group and 2.7% in the general population. The level of deprivation was different by chapter choice of consumer bankruptcy. Policy and practice implications of the results were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.69 no.2
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• pp.171-190
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• 2017

This study examined the impact of indebtedness on depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. The data came from the 4th to 10th waves of the Korea Welfare Panel Study, collected from 2009 to 2015. Analyses were conducted using logistic regression for longitudinal data that combines the fixed effects and random effects approaches. The results show that a high level of indebtedness substantially increased the risk of depressive symptoms. The household leverage ratio-the ratio of total household debt to disposable personal income-of 400% or higher increased the odds of probable depression by 50% compared with the ratio under 100%. When the percentage of personal income that goes toward paying debt is 30% or higher, the odds of probable depression went up by 66% than when the percentage of debt payment of disposal income is under 10%. The findings suggest that debt relief agencies and their programs need to incorporate means to identify and address emotional stress related to the excessive debt. This study also contributed to enriching the literature on social determinants of health by demonstrating that indebtedness is an important socioeconomic characteristic affecting individuals' mental health.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.173-207
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• 2018

Japan is a super-aged society where the proportion of the people aged over 65 is exceeded 20%. Therefore, there are many accidents that occur in long-term care facilities in Japan, and there are many civil litigations. The Japanese court has acknowledged in many cases that the long-term facility is responsible for the damage to the elderly who is injured in the facility. The cases can be divided into ① tumbling down, ② wandering, ③ suffocation, ④ bedsore, and ⑤ accidents among the facility-users. In most cases, the court found that the facility violated its obligation to protect their users. This is not only the case where the manager or the employee of the facility violates the obligation to watch and care for the elderly, but in some cases, the failure to maintain the human and material system itself is recognized. The basis for such judgment is whether the facility can predict the possibility of an accident and whether the facility has taken measures to prevent accidents. Also, the Japanese court recognizes the transfer of burden of proof in order to expedite the victims' rights. However, the liability of the facility for damages should not be so heavy that it would be hesitant to allow a person to enter the facility and make a contract.

• 사회경제평론
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.119-154
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• 2016

Kalecki thought that monetary and financial factors play very important roles in the processes of investment decision and expenditure. He also acknowledged that interest rate is monetary phenomenon and investment finance is provided by banks prior to savings as Keynes did, and suggested that the more is the debt, the greater is the risk of debtor and lender. However, in developing investment theory he dismissed those monetary and financial factors or substituted into actual profit or savings, because he aimed to construct the investment theory to be able to explain the 'automatic mechanism of the fluctuation of capitalist economy'. Thus it is argued that Kalecki did not consider the monetary and financial factors in his investment theory. This paper aims to modify Kalecki's investment theory so that it incorporates the monetary and financial factors, such as the willingness of banking system to lend, interest rates, the ratio of leverage which had been dismissed by him. The Kaleckian investment theory that incorporates the monetary and financial factors in Kalecki's theory of investment allows us to explain not only an automatic and regular business cycle, but also irregular excessive investment and high leverage, consequent risk increase and financial crisis occurred in the economy with developed financial system.