Natural Decrease in the Context of Lowest-low Fertility: South Korea, 2005–2014

Abstract Scholars and policymakers contend that severe work-family constraints for women are a key contributor to lowest-low fertility in industrialized countries. Two separate areas of research have examined supports that could alleviate these constraints and potentially increase fertility: institutional support in the form of public policies and domestic labor support from male partners. There are few studies considering the influence of both policy and domestic labor supports and no investigations of the interplay between these two support mechanisms. We develop and test a theoretical framework that considers how the combination of these supports could alleviate women’s work-family constraints and increase fertility. Using the case of South Korea, a country with one of the most sustained lowest-low fertility rates in history, we examined the relationship between women’s eligibility for parental leave and husbands’ share of domestic labor and the transition to a second birth. Our analyses revealed that both supports, independently, had positive effects on the likelihood of a second birth. More importantly, we found that husbands’ domestic labor had a positive influence on fertility only when women’s access to parental leave was limited, suggesting that policy and domestic labor supports are substitutes and alleviate the same underlying work-family constraint in the Korean context. Our study underscores the importance of understanding the nature of work-family conflict across countries and how various supports―alone or in combination―could relieve women’s constraints on childbearing and upturn lowest-low fertility.

Download Full-text

Young Men’s Employment and Their Marriage: A Comparison among Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK, France, and Sweden

Comparative Sociology ◽

10.1163/15691330-12341491 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 204-228

Author(s):

Shigeki Matsuda

Keyword(s):

South Korea ◽

Low Fertility ◽

Fertility Rates ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Marriage Rates ◽

Low Incomes ◽

Regular Employment ◽

The Uk ◽

Old Men ◽

Married Male

Abstract In Europe, falling fertility rates are regarded as part of a second demographic transition precipitated by changing values. Low fertility rates in developed Asian countries, however, are thought to be due to decreasing marriage rates, as a result of worsening young men’s employment. This study proposes the hypothesis that men in non-regular employment – those with low incomes and those who are unemployed – have lower probabilities of getting married. Male employment was analyzed using a logistic regression of micro data for 20- to 49-year-old men in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK, France, and Sweden. The study’s findings generally supported the hypothesis and clearly confirmed that there is a relationship between employment and marriage in Asian countries, and especially in Japan.

Download Full-text

Spatial Variations in Fertility of South Korea: A Geographically Weighted Regression Approach

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi8060262 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 262 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Myunggu Jung ◽

Woorim Ko ◽

Yeohee Choi ◽

Youngtae Cho

Keyword(s):

South Korea ◽

Geographically Weighted Regression ◽

Population Policy ◽

Local Population ◽

Sociodemographic Factors ◽

Ordinary Least Squares ◽

Spatial Variations ◽

Low Fertility ◽

Weighted Regression

South Korea has witnessed a remarkable decline in birth rates in the last few decades. Although there has been a large volume of literature exploring the determinants of low fertility in South Korea, studies on spatial variations in fertility are scarce. This study compares the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models to investigate the potential role of the spatially heterogeneous response of the total fertility rate (TFR) to sociodemographic factors. The study finds that the relationships between sociodemographic factors and TFRs in South Korea vary across 252 sub-administrative areas in terms of both magnitude and direction. This study therefore demonstrates the value of using spatial analysis for providing evidence-based local-population policy options in pursuit of a fertility rebound in South Korea.

Download Full-text