• Title/Summary/Keyword: Firm Characteristics

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A Study on the Regional Development Effects by the Location of a New Automobile Assembly Plant -In the Case of Hyundai Motors Co. in Yulchon Industrial Complex, Chonnam Province- (자동차공업의 입지와 지역발전에 관한 연구 -전남 율촌 산업단지를 사례로-)

  • Lee, Jeong-Rock;Lee, Sang-Seok
    • Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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    • v.4 no.1
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    • pp.77-98
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    • 1998
  • In general, spatial imbalance in regional growth is a major cause of social and political conflicts within a state. In Korea, this inequality has functioned as a threat to the state's integration. With the economic development policies by regional industrialization over the past three decades, most of the industrial activities have been concentrated in Seoul and Pusan metropolitan areas, which are surrounded by Kyonggi, Kyongnam provinces respectively. Compared to these areas, Chonnam and Chonbuk provinces have lagged behind in economic development. Therefore, in order to increase the regional economic development of the southwestern region in Korea, the central government has been enforcing several policies aimed at regional industrialization since the 1980s. The purpose of this study focuses on the regional economic impacts of a newly established industrial estate-Yulchon industrial complex- which would act as a regional growth center in the Kwangyang bay area. The Kwangyang bay area consists of several industrial estates such as Kwangyang Iron and Steel Co. and its related industrial complex, Chuam rural industrial estate, Yeochon industrial complex, and so on. In addition, the Kwangyang container port was constructed in 1997. The Kwangyang bay area has been changing to a new industrial district in the southwestern part of Korea as a result of industrialization policies which were activated by central government. The Yulchon industrial complex, which is expected to be completed in 2001, would draw many manufacturing plants. For example, Hyundai Motors Co. has a plan to locate a new automobile assembly plant within the estate. As the plan has high probability to be realized, it will be interesting to study the effects a new automobile assembly plant and its related production linkages have on the region. This study is to estimate the expected structural characteristics of automobile production activities in Yulchon. The following details will be discussed: the regional economic impacts of a new automobile industry in Yulchon industrial complex, the production linkage formation via hierarchical subcontracting systems, the alternative strategies to promote the growth of regional economies, and the scheme to improve the auto-parts and components industry in Kwangju and Chonnam provinces by establishing auto-mobile production function. Automoblie industry generally gives great influences on not only regional economies but the related industries, for example, the firms producing automotive components. If a new plant producing automobiles and its related firms producing components are to be established in Yulchon, they will affect on the regional development directions and change the regional characteristics of industrial structure. In order to increase the spread effects of the new industry in Yulchon industrial complex, almost all of the automobile production processes must be organized concurrently within a limited range of distance. There is an imperative that the co-operation system should be structured between the assembly firm and many firms producing its components. In addition to those, it would be required such as the effective division of labors between the firms, much more capabilities in the technical innovations, and the reconstruction of interrelationship between the labor unions and the firms' managers.

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Varieties of Community Unionism: A Comparison between the Youth Community Union and the Arbeit Workers' Union in South Korea (커뮤니티유니온의 다양성: 청년유니온과 아르바이트노동조합의 비교연구)

  • Yang, Kyunguk;Chae, Yeon Joo
    • Korean Journal of Labor Studies
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    • v.24 no.2
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    • pp.95-136
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    • 2018
  • As the number of precariats grows, their poor labor rights and working conditions are becoming issues of major concern all over the world but how to represent their interests is still controversial. Basically, the union is the institutional mechanism for representing the labor rights. However, it is difficult for workplaceand enterprise-based unions to fully represent the labor rights of precarious workers. Recently, so-called community unions have emerged in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan as independent organizations representing the rights of non-standard workers. Community unions refer to labor unions which organize precarious workers across firms at the regional level. They are known to be suitable for covering the unemployed, job seekers, indirect employment workers, short-term contract workers, and small-firm workers. In South Korea, since the financial crisis in 1997, a dramatic increase in the number of precariats leads to emergence of new types of trade unions such as the Youth Community Union, the Arbeit Workers' Union, the Artist Social Union and the Korea Musician's Union. They have engaged in various activities to guarantee the labor rights of precariats. Recently, researchers have also tried to identify defining characteristics of these new forms of unionism. To expand research on trade unionism in South Korea, this study compares two different types of community unions: the Youth Community Union and the Arbeit Workers' Union. We believe that this attempt can contribute to the research on the alternative labor movement. For this purpose, this study starts with theoretical discussions on community unions, and compares the Youth Community Union with the Arbeit Workers' Union based on the five characteristics of community unionism: membership and organization structure, the recognition struggle, the type or scope of interest, solidarity with other civic organizations, and the repertoire of resistance strategies. Based on this comparative analysis, this study seeks to foresee the possibility of how community unionism will develop in South Korean in the future.

Using Platforms as Market Creation Strategies for Small and Medium-Sized Service Robotics Companies in South Korea: The ROBOPRINT Case Study (국내 중소 서비스용 로봇 기업의 플랫폼을 이용한 시장 창출 전략: 로보프린트 사례연구)

  • Oh, Soo Jung
    • Korean small business review
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    • v.43 no.2
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    • pp.59-86
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    • 2021
  • The platform concept has been used for business operations in various forms: product platforms, transaction platforms and industry platforms. All these platforms have common characteristics of having 'core' that is reused frequently and 'peripherals' that are less reusable and changed often. Companies use platforms to enable efficient development and creation of product family, transactions and innovation. These platforms provide new opportunities for many small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) by bringing changes to traditional industrial structures focused on the products rather than platforms. The service robotics industry in South Korea is mainly composed of technology-intensive SMEs due to its small market size. Although these SMEs succeed in developing technologies, they have difficulties creating and expanding markets to sell products. Thus, this study addresses the characteristics and problems of the South Korean service robotics industry and analyses how ROBOPRINT, one of the SMEs in the service robotics industry, successfully creates and continuously expands the service robot market by adopting platform concept. The results indicate that ROBOPRINT has been applying two types of platforms: product and transaction platforms. First, ROBOPRINT created art robots that were apartment mural service robots. Rather than selling art robots, the company developed various robots such as painting robots, building exterior wall-cleaning robots by reusing the core technology of the robots. The company also developed various robots according to the buyers request. In addition, the company used the robots to directly provide apartment mural services for customers. This mural service has been extended into various areas, not only in apartments but also in soundproof walls, underground passages, and retaining walls. Besides, ROBOPRINT added new services continuously by developing technologies such as virtual reality. Second, ROBOPRINT mediated mural service buyers and mural designers. This platform reduced buyers' workload, which necessitates requesting mural services to ROBOPRINT and searching for mural designers. For designers, this opened up new opportunities to participate in the mural business. The platform attracted both mural buyers and designers who were scattered before. Finally, ROBOPRINT seeks to expand the platform's scope to outside company. To share internally reused ROBOPRINT's technology with other companies, the company participated in Daegu city's 'New Technology Platform Industry'. Furthermore, ROBOPRINT is trying to share the service platform by leasing robots to other companies. This allows external agents to develop technologies and provide services by reusing resources from ROBOPRINT. This study contributes to existing theories by showing that SMEs continuously create and expand markets by building various platforms. Moreover, it provides useful implications for practitioners by describing the firm's specific platform-building strategy.

Confucian View of Self-realization and Context of Life: With a focus on Viewpoint of Confucius and Mencius (유교의 자아실현과 삶의 맥락 - 공자와 맹자의 시선을 중심으로 -)

  • Shin, Chang Ho
    • The Journal of Korean Philosophical History
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    • no.29
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    • pp.153-178
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    • 2010
  • The aim of this research was to examine the traditional Confucian view of self-realization in East Asia and the meaning of life implied therein. The researcher closely reviewed the phase of self-realization of both Confucius and Mencius who are central in Confucianism, especially in the primordial Confucianism, and after investigating maturity of personality as well as educational characteristics thereof, the researcher tried to elicit its modern significance. In Analects, Confucius who is the founder of Confucianism mentioned about 'the pleasure of studying and practicing what he has learned'(學而時習 "Hagisiseup" in Korean), since after, his past was then just the process of self-realization that lasted throughout life. That is, the six phases of self-realization, to wit, 'bending on learning(志學, "Jihak")-'standing firm'(而立, "Irip")-'having no doubts'(不惑, "Bulhok")-'knowing the decrees of Heaven'(知天命, "Jicheonmyeong")-'ear being obedient organ for the reception of truth' (耳順, "Isun")-'able to follow what my heart desires without transgressing what is right'(從心, "Jongsim"), are lying hidden and undeveloped during lifetime, and, at the same time, these phases illustrate the state of enlightenment of life in an in-depth manner. By showing the process of living which is being sublimated in respect of quality, and by going through important process of self-innovation up to six times during lifetime, Confucius edifies us the activity of complete self-realization as well as the importance of education and learning. Meanwhile, these are connected to Mencius in a similar pattern, and strong influence of the characteristics of the learning of the mind and heart( 心學, "Simhak") based on his philosophy permeates the self-actualization phase of Mencius. Mencius' self-actualization phase is expressed in terms of six stages, viz., Person of Goodness(善人, "Seonin")-Trustworthy Person(信人, "Sinin")-Person of Beauty(美人, "Miin")-Great Person(大人, "Daein")-Sage(聖人, "Seongin")-Divine Person(神人, "Sinin"), and these six phases of self-actualization process are educational and learning model for people who dream actualization of perfect personality during their lifetime. Confucian and Mencian view of self-realization congruent with self-discipline internally, and it also reveals a stereotype of human externally. These are a process of performing organic ideals in order for cultivating oneself and regulating others(修己治人, pronounced 'sugichiin' in Korean) which has been pursued by Confucianism. Briefly, these self-realization phases are the arts of living that will lay foundation for "Being Born Human, pronounced Saramim' in Korean" and for becoming "Fully Human, 'Sarmadoem'" and finally for "Human Feelingness, 'Saramdaum'

An Empirical Study on the Determinants of Re-startup Firm's Performance by the Condition of Credit Problems (신용문제에 따른 재창업기업 성과 결정 요인에 대한 실증연구)

  • Kim, In Sue;Lee, Taek Ku
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.15-26
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    • 2018
  • This study examines the effects of failure experience, re-startup's motivation, government support business and education for re-startup on the performance of re-startup firms after failure. In addition, we analyzed how the above factors affect the performance of re-startup firms by the condition of debt and credit problems. As a result of the analysis, the failure experience had no significant effect on the re-startup performance regardless of the credit problem, while re-startup's motivation, government support business and education for re-startup had a significant effect on re-startup firms' performance. In the re-startup group with the credit problem, the re-startup's motivation and the failure experience had a significant influence on the re-startup firms' performance. On the other hand, in the group that did not solve the credit problem, the re-startup's motivation and the failure experience had no significant effect on the re-startup performance, but the government support business and education for re-startup had a significant effect on re-startup performance. The results of this study are as follows: First, it shows that the characteristics of re-startups and the determinants of re-startups are different according to credit problems. Second, this study shows that it takes 56 months on average from the close of business to the re-start, and it may take more than 7 years due to the credit problems and bankruptcy. This suggests the necessity to consider re-startup in the concept of obsolete in consideration of time, when studying the direct/indirect influence of failure experience and re-startup, and establishing policy.

An Empirical Study on the Success Factors of Korean Venture Firms: The Suggestion of the Integrated Model Utilizing Secondary Data (한국 벤처기업의 성공요인에 관한 실증적 연구: 2차 자료를 활용한 통합적 모형의 제시)

  • Koh, InKon
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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    • v.13 no.2
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    • pp.1-13
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    • 2018
  • This study examines the relationship between the organizational general characteristics (industry, size, location, development stage, and company age) and success factors of Korean venture firms using secondary data. Among the industries with the highest sales figures in 2016 are food / fiber / (non) metals, and the smallest category was software development. The sectors with the highest net profit were computer / semiconductor / electronic components, and the smallest category was telecommunication equipment / broadcasting equipment. The industries with the largest sales growth rate are IT / broadcasting services and software development. The industries with the highest net profit margin of sales are energy / medical / precision, and the smallest is telecommunication equipment / broadcasting equipment. In terms of the number of employees, venture firms with more than 100 employees have the largest sales and net profit, with employees between 1 and 9 have the smallest. However, these results are predictable. In general, the number of employees is highly correlated with sales and net profit. Rather, the sales growth rate and the net profit margin of sales may be meaningful. In particular, with employees between 50 ~ 99, the growth rate of sales and the net profit margin of sales were high. In terms of location, Seoul / Incheon / Gyeonggi were the regions with the highest sales and Daejeon / Sejong / Chungcheong / Gangwon were the least regions. Gwangju / Jeolla / Jeju and Seoul / Incheon / Gyeonggi were almost similar in the areas with the largest net profit. However, Daejeon / Sejong / Chungcheong / Gangwon had the lowest net profit. Unusually, the areas with the highest sales growth rate and the highest net profit margin of sales were Gwangju / Jeolla / Jeju, and the smallest areas were Busan / Jeonnam / Ulsan In the relationship between the stage of development and the performance of the company, the sales of maturity and decline stages were the highest and establishing stage was the lowest. Net profit was also the highest in mature stage and the smallest in establishing stage. The sales growth rate shows a typical pattern in the order of establishing stage, early growth stage, high growth stage, maturity stage, and decline stage. In terms of business performance, sales and net profit are the highest with 21 years or more of company age, and the smallest is less than 3 years. In addition, the sales growth rate was the highest in three years or less, and the net profit margin of sales was the highest in 4 to 10 years. This study can present lots of useful implications by suggesting integrated research model and examining the success factors of Korean venture firms and presenting the application methods of secondary data in analyzing the current status of venture industry in Korea.

Correlation among Ownership of Home Appliances Using Multivariate Probit Model (다변량 프로빗 모형을 이용한 가전제품 구매의 상관관계 분석)

  • Kim, Chang-Seob;Shin, Jung-Woo;Lee, Mi-Suk;Lee, Jong-Su
    • Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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    • v.19 no.2
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    • pp.17-26
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    • 2009
  • As the lifestyle of consumers changes and the need for various products increases, new products are being developed in the market. Each household owns various home appliances which are purchased through the choice of a decision maker. These appliances include not only large-sized products such as TV, refrigerator, and washing machine, but also small-sized products such as microwave oven and air cleaner. There exists latent correlation among possession of home appliances, even though they are purchased independently. The purpose of this research is to analyze the effect of demographic factors on the purchase and possession of each home appliances, and to derive some relationships among various appliances. To achieve this purpose, the present status on the possession of each home appliances are investigated through consumer survey data on the electric and energy product. And a multivariate probit(MVP) model is applied for the empirical analysis. From the estimation results, some appliances show a substitutive or complementary pattern as expected, while others which look apparently unrelated have correlation by co-incidence. This research has several advantages compared to previous literatures on home appliances. First, this research focuses on the various products which are purchased by each household, while previous researches such as Matsukawa and Ito(1998) and Yoon(2007) focus just on a particular product. Second, the methodology of this research can consider a choice process of each product and correlation among products simultaneously. Lastly, this research can analyze not only a substitutive or complementary relationship in the same category, but also the correlation among products in the different categories. As the data on the possession of home appliances in each household has a characteristic of multiple choice, not a single choice, a MVP model are used for the empirical analysis. A MVP model is derived from a random utility model, and has an advantage compared to a multinomial logit model in that correlation among error terms can be derive(Manchanda et al., 1999; Edwards and Allenby, 2003). It is assumed that the error term has a normal distribution with zero mean and variance-covariance matrix ${\Omega}$. Hence, the sign and value of correlation coefficients means the relationship between two alternatives(Manchanda et al., 1999). This research uses the data of 'TEMEP Household ICT/Energy Survey (THIES) 2008' which is conducted by Technology Management, Economics and Policy Program in Seoul National University. The empirical analysis of this research is accomplished in two steps. First, a MVP model with demographic variables is estimated to analyze the effect of the characteristics of household on the purchase of each home appliances. In this research, some variables such as education level, region, size of family, average income, type of house are considered. Second, a MVP model excluding demographic variables is estimated to analyze the correlation among each home appliances. According to the estimation results of variance-covariance matrix, each households tend to own some appliances such as washing machine-refrigerator-cleaner-microwave oven, and air conditioner-dish washer-washing machine and so on. On the other hand, several products such as analog braun tube TV-digital braun tube TV and desktop PC-portable PC show a substitutive pattern. Lastly, the correlation map of home appliances are derived using multi-dimensional scaling(MDS) method based on the result of variance-covariance matrix. This research can provide significant implications for the firm's marketing strategies such as bundling, pricing, display and so on. In addition, this research can provide significant information for the development of convergence products and related technologies. A convergence product can decrease its market uncertainty, if two products which consumers tend to purchase together are integrated into it. The results of this research are more meaningful because it is based on the possession status of each household through the survey data.

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Some New Problems of International Aviation Security- Considerations Forcused on its Legal Aspects (최근국제항공보안대책(最近國際航空保安対策)의 제간제(諸間題) -특히 법적측면(法的測面)을 중심(中心)으로-)

  • Choi, Wan-Sik
    • The Korean Journal of Air & Space Law and Policy
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    • v.5
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    • pp.53-75
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    • 1993
  • This article is concerned with the comment on "Some New Problems of International Aviation Security-Considerations Forcused on its Legal Aspects". Ever since 1970, in addition to the problem of failure to accept the Tokyo, Hague and Montreal Conventions, there has been also the problem of parties to them, failing to comply with their obligations under the respective treaties, in the form especially of nominal penalties or the lack of any effort to prosecute after blank refusals to extradite. There have also been cases of prolonged detention of aircraft, passengers and hostages. In this regard, all three conventions contain identical clauses which submit disputes between two or more contracting States concerning the interpretation or application of the respective conventions to arbitration or failing agreement on the organization of the arbitration, to the International Court of Justice. To the extent to which contracting States have not contracted out of this undertaking, as I fear they are expressly allowed to do, this promision can be used by contracting States to ensure compliance. But to date, this avenue does not appear to have been used. From this point of view, it may be worth mentioning that there appears to be an alarming trend towards the view that the defeat of terrorism is such an overriding imperative that all means of doing so become, in international law, automatically lawful. In addition, in as far as aviation security is concerned, as in fact it has long been suggested, what is required is the "application of the strictest security measures by all concerned."In this regard, mention should be made of Annex 17 to the Chicago Convention on Security-Safeguarding International Civil Aviation against Acts of Unlawful Intereference. ICAO has, moreover, compiled, for restricted distribution, a Security Manual for Safeguarding Civil Aviation Against Acts of Unlawful Interference, which is highly useful. In this regard, it may well be argued that, unless States members of ICAO notify the ICAO Council of their inability to comply with opecific standards in Annex 17 or any of the related Annexes in accordance with Article 38 of the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, their failure to do so can involve State responsibility and, if damage were to insure, their liability. The same applies to breaches of any other treaty obligation. I hope to demonstrate that although modes of international violence may change, their underlying characteristics remain broadly similar, necessitating not simply the adoption of an adequate body of domestic legislation, firm in its content and fairly administered, but also an international network of communication, of cooperation and of coordination of policies. Afurther legal instrument is now being developed by the Legal Committee of ICAO with respect to unlawful acts at International airports. These instruments, however, are not very effective, because of the absence of universal acceptance and the deficiency I have already pointed out. Therefore, States, airports and international airlines have to concentrate on prevention. If the development of policies is important at the international level, it is equally important in the domestic setting. For example, the recent experiences of France have prompted many changes in the State's legislation and in its policies towards terrorism, with higher penalties for terrorist offences and incentives which encourage accused terrorists to pass informations to the authorities. And our government has to tighten furthermore security measures. Particularly, in the case an unarmed hijacker who boards having no instrument in his possession with which to promote the hoax, a plaintiff-passenger would be hard-pressed to show that the airline was negligent in screening the hijacker prior to boarding. In light of the airline's duty to exercise a high degree of care to provide for the safety of all the passengers on board, an acquiescence to a hijacker's demands on the part of the air carrier could constitute a breach of duty only when it is clearly shown that the carrier's employees knew or plainly should have known that the hijacker was unarmed. The general opinion is that the legal oystem could be sufficient, provided that the political will is there to use and apply it effectively. All agreed that the main responsibility for security has to be borne by the governments. A state that supports aviation terrorism is responsible for violation of International Aviation Law. Generally speaking, terrorism is a violation of international law. It violates the sovereign rights of states, and the human rights of the individuals. We have to contribute more to the creation of a general consensus amongst all states about the need to combat the threat of aviation terrorism. I think that aviation terrorism as becoming an ever more serious issue, has to be solved by internationally agreed and closely co - ordinated measures.

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Analysis of CO2 Emission Intensity per Industry using the Input-Output Tables 2003 (산업연관표(2003년)를 활용한 산업별 CO2 배출 원단위 분석)

  • Park, Pil-Ju;Kim, Mann-Young;Yi, Il-Seuk
    • Environmental and Resource Economics Review
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    • v.18 no.2
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    • pp.279-309
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    • 2009
  • Greenhouse gas emissions should be precisely forecast to reduce the emissions from industrial production processes. This study calculated the direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission intensities of 401 industries using the Input-Output tables 2003 and statistical data on the amount of energy use. This study had some limitations in drawing study findings because overseas data were used given the lack of domestic data. Other limiting factors included the oil distribution problems in the oil refinery sector, re-review of carbon neutral, and insufficient consideration of waste treatment. Nonetheless, this study is very meaningful since the direct and indirect $CO_2$ emission intensities of 401 industries were calculated. Specifically, this study considered from the zero-waste perspective the effects of waste, which attract interest worldwide since coke gas and gas from the steel industry are obtained as byproducts for the first time in Korea. According to the results of the analysis of $CO_2$ emission intensity per industry, typical industries whose indirect $CO_2$ emission intensity is high include crude steel making, Remicon, steel wire rods & track rail, cast iron, and iron reinforcing rods & bar steel. These industries produce products using the raw materials produced in the industrial sector whose $CO_2$ emission intensity is high. The representative industries whose direct $CO_2$ emission intensity is high include cement, pig iron, lime & plaster products, andcoal-based compounds. These industries extract raw ore from nature and refine them into raw materials that are useful in other industries. The findings in this study can be effectively used for the following case: estimation of target $CO_2$ emission reduction level reflecting each industrial sector's characteristics, calculation of potential emission reduction of each policy to reduce $CO_2$ emissions, identification of a firm's $CO_2$ emission level, and setting of the target level of emission reduction. Moreover, the findings in this study can be utilized widely in fields such as System of integrated Environmental and Economic Accounting(SEEA) and Material Flow Analysis(MFA) as the current topic of research in Korea.

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The Effects of Female Wage on Fertility in Korea (여성의 임금수준이 출산율에 미치는 영향 분석)

  • Kim, Jungho
    • KDI Journal of Economic Policy
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    • v.31 no.1
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    • pp.105-138
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    • 2009
  • Although the decline in fertility rate is generally observed along the history of economic development throughout the world, the continuing decline hitting below the replacement level in Korea over the recent years gathered serious social concerns on the ground that it accelerates the process of population aging. The total fertility rate in Koreareached 2.08 in 1983, and gradually fell to the levels of 1.08 in 2005 and 1.26 in 2007. The policy debate over the role of the government has been focused mainly on the level of theoretical discussion without substantial basis on firm empirical evidence and the determinants of fertility. The objective of the paper is to empirically investigate the fertility effect of the female wage, which is understood as one of the most important determinants of fertility in Koreasince 1980 focusing on one aspect of fertility, namely birth spacing. Using the Korean National Fertility Survey conducted in 2006, I estimate a duration model of first and second births taking into account individual heterogeneity, which turned out to be an important factor to control for. Compared with previous studies in the literature on the Korean fertility, the study has an advantage of using the complete pregnancy history of women in a more representative sample. Unlike the previous studies, the analysis also deals with the endogeneity of marriage by treating a certain age, rather than age at marriage, as the time in which a woman becomes exposed to the risk of pregnancy. The study shares the common problem in the literature on birth spacing of lacking relevant wage information for respondents in a retrospective survey. I estimate the wage series as a function of the basic characteristics using the annual Wage Structure Survey from 1980 to 2005, which is considered as a nationally representative sample for wage information of employees. The results suggest that the increase in female wage by 10 percent leads to a decrease in second birth hazard by 0.56~0.92 percentage points and that the increase in spouse's wage by the equal amount is accompanied by the increase in second birth hazard by 0.36~1.13 percentage points. These estimates are more precisely estimated and of smaller magnitude than those presented by the previous studies. The results are robust to the different specifications of the wage equation. The simulation analysis based on the predicted values shows that about 17% of the change in the second birth hazard over the period 1980 to 2005 was due to the change in the female wage. Although there is some limitation in data, the results can be viewed as one estimate of the role of female wage on the recent fertility decline in Korea. The question raised by the paper is not a normative one of whether a government should promote childbearing but a positive one thatexplains fertility decline. Therefore, if there is a wide consensus on promoting childbearing, the finding suggests that the policies designed to reduce the opportunity cost of women in the labor market would be effective. The recent movement of implementing a wide range of family-friendly policies including child care support, maternity leave, parental leave and tax benefit in developed countries should be understood in this context.

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