EFFECTS OF TAXES AND BENEFITS ON INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN KOREA

This paper examines the redistributive effects of Korea's fiscal policies, including consumption taxes and in‐kind benefits. Using the Household Income and Expenditure Survey of 2007, we find that taxes and transfers reduce income inequality in Korea by 13.8 percent. Contrary to the popular belief that direct taxes are the key tool for redistribution, in‐kind benefits, direct taxes, and social security contributions all decrease the Gini coefficient by 6.7, 4.7, and 2.9 percentage points, respectively. The redistributive effect of consumption taxes is small and negative (?0.5 percentage point). Policy simulations indicate that education spending financed by the personal income tax has a positive redistributive effect and that the lower 70 percent of households enjoy positive net benefits. Spending targeting the poor has a strong redistributive effect, which implies low popularity because the majority of households face net losses.     

THE MYTH OF FREE LABOUR MARKET IN KOREA

The paper challenges the conventional view that a free labourmarket has played a crucial role in producing good growth andequity performance in Korea. The paper first shows that thisview is based on problematic models of growth and equity, andthat it is not supported by the empirical evidence from Koreaeven in its own terms. Then we discuss the conceptual problemswith the notion of ‘free labour market’. It is pointedout that, without explicit moral judgement concerning the underlyingsystem of rights, it is not possible to maintain a coherentnotion of ‘free labour market’. It is then shownthat, contrary to the conventional wisdom, the Korean labourmarket has been heavily regulated, with the state taking anactive role in the management of conflict and in the promotionof learning. We show that the Korean state has tried to manageconflict in the labour market through a combination of politicalrepression, appeasement and mobilisation and has tried to promoteskill formation and learning through manpower planning, subsidiesto education, and various training and retraining schemes. Itis argued that, while by no means unambiguous successes, suchstate involvements in the labour market have been critical inthe industrial success of Korea.     

THE MEASUREMENT OF GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT IN KOREA

South Korea began its measurement of Gross National Product during the turbulent 1950's, a period of postwar rebuilding and of political and social changes. With only a small and largely inexperienced staff, and with little support from other statistical agencies whose data were essential to adequate GNP measurement, the Bank of Korea began this task in the early 1950's. Early estimates were extremely rough; over the years, the statistical staff was trained and other statistical agencies were upgraded. Measurements of output in the large agricultural sector and in manufacturing have gradually but consistently been strengthened as recent input-output data has been developed. Gaps still persist, particularly in the wholesale and retail sectors, but certain strengths are present: an outstanding job has been done in product pricing. The author describes the evolution of Korea's improving GNP program, presents its sources of data and its methodologies, and gives an assessment of problems of the past and prospects for the future.     

THE EMERGENCE OF FREELANCER COOPERATIVES IN SOUTH KOREA

This paper examines freelancer cooperatives that have recently emerged in South Korea. In particular, it investigates the reasons why freelancers have established cooperatives and what conditions are required for freelancer cooperatives to increase their work. A review of the extant literature on the manner in which freelancers have to organize, as well as case studies regarding freelancer cooperatives, shows that freelancer cooperatives have emerged in order to reduce members' job uncertainty and to reduce time variance of projects assigned to a freelancer. Based on an analysis of freelancers’ organizational characteristics relative to entrepreneur cooperatives and worker cooperatives, we propose that the freelancer cooperatives are a hybrid between entrepreneur cooperatives and worker cooperatives. This paper also proposes the conditions required for development of freelancer cooperatives and suggests how those are distinguished from traditional entrepreneur cooperatives.     

我国旅游商品业发展的动态趋势及波动周期

依据近20多年旅游外汇总收入与旅游商品外汇收入的统计数据，对1979－2000年旅游商品收入在旅游总收入中所占比重的变化进行分析；对旅游业和旅游商品业创汇收入年增长率的变化进行对比分析；建立了我国旅游商品业创汇收入的趋势方程；分析了我国旅游商品业发展的动态趋势及波动周期；最后运用趋势方程及周期规律，对未来5年我国旅游商品业的发展趋势做出预测。     

ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL RESERVE HOARDING IN KOREA

Since the Asian financial crisis, Korea's accumulation of international reserves has substantially exceeded benchmark levels. The present paper examines the interaction between international reserve hoarding and mercantilist motives, in the context of Korea's policy of maintaining export competitiveness through exchange rate management. An estimation of cointegration and error correction has found that in both the long term and the short term, Korea has stockpiled reserves as a result of heightened concerns regarding export competitiveness. The short‐run dynamics entail precautionary motives that have contributed to reserve accumulation. A variance decomposition test suggests that the mercantilist motive has been the main driver of reserve accumulation.     

广州市旅游购物发展的现状,问题及对策

广东旅游业的创收连续９ 年居全国之首,但旅游购物的发展仍滞后于整个旅游业的发展,与旅游发达国家相比,差距更大。本文在调查研究的基础上,论述了在广东旅游业中居重要地位的广州市的旅游购物现状、存在问题,并探索相应的对策,以期给广东旅游业发展提供一些有益的启示。     

中国土地供应管制对住宅价格波动的影响

结合中国实际修正传统的存量—流量模型,选取1999—2007年中国30省市的季度面板数据进行计量检验,分析土地供应管制与住宅价格波动的关系,并比较不同的土地供应管制强度下投机因素对房价影响的大小。研究表明:(1)中国的土地供应管制对住宅价格水平及波动都有显著影响;(2)土地供给管制环境的宽松与紧缩影响投机行为作用的大小,当土地供应管制加强时,投机因素对房价波动的影响更大;(3)2003年下半年以来我国"从严从紧"的紧缩供地政策,通过预期效应作用于投机行为,进而传导给住宅市场,对平抑房价政策目标的实现产生了一定的负面影响。     

THE IMPACT OF ANTISMOKING POLICIES IN KOREA ON QUIT SUCCESS AND SMOKING INTENTIONS

In 2001 and 2002, the Korean government dramatically increased cigarette taxes, anti‐smoking advertisements, and smoking prohibitions as part of an anti‐smoking campaign. This paper examines the impacts of these policy changes by modeling quit success and smoking intentions pre‐ and post‐policy and attributing model differences to anti‐smoking policies. Model results provide evidence that national anti‐smoking policies increased both quitting success and intention to quit. However, the impacts of these policies are uneven throughout Korean society. Females and those who exercise for health maintenance experienced higher quit success. Heavy smokers and high frequency alcohol drinkers stated they are less likely to quit smoking post‐policy. One impact of national anti‐smoking policies is reduced provincial differences among Koreans in both quit success and intention to quit. Future anti‐smoking policies should address the different needs of these groups. (JEL D12, I19)     

PRICE-COST MARGINS AND INDUSTRY STRUCTURE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF KOREA*

The structure-conduct-performance paradigm is tested using 4-digit SIC Korean industry data for 1981 and 1986. The study investigates whether the observed institutional differences between developed and developing countries affects the performance hypothesis. The results suggest that structure and conduct variables influence price-cost margins in much the same way as they do in developed countries. Nevertheless, the Korean government's credit rationing policies, by creating entry barriers, have the most important effects on industry performance.     

本土市场效应及其对中国省间生产和贸易的影响

新经济地理理论强调经济规模是地区贸易和国际贸易的驱动力,这种力量被克鲁格曼称为“本土市场效应”(home market effects)。本文直接从Fujita,Krugman and Venables(2000)一文中推导出经验检验模型,并把该模型与Davis and Weinstein(1996,1999)中的经验检验模型联系起来。使用这两个模型和中国1997年31个省(市、区)19个产业的生产、需求和资源禀赋资料,本文检验了中国各省生产和贸易类型到底是由比较优势决定还是由本土市场效应决定的问题。我们发现本土市场效应在决定中国地区间生产和贸易的类型上起着显著的作用。分产业的分析发现19个产业中至少有7个存在显著的本土市场效应。     

我国不同形式转移支付财力 均等化效应研究

本文通过基尼系数分解的方法考察了我国转移支付的地区间财力均等化效应。计算结果显示,一般性转移支付和专项转移支付在资金分配上均向财力较弱的地区进行了倾斜,具有财力均等化效应,在强度上,一般较专项要强。在构成一般性转移支付的诸多子项目中,农村税费改革转移支付向财力较弱地区的倾斜程度最强,教育转移支付次之,紧随其后的分别是基本财力保障机制奖励补助以及调整工资转移支付。但是由于均衡性转移支付规模较大,财力均等化效应最强。     

THE WELFARE EFFECTS OF UPSTREAM MERGERS IN THE PRESENCE OF DOWNSTREAM ENTRY BARRIERS*

We examine the incentives for upstream firms to consolidate horizontally and the impact of this process on industry performance, when there are downstream entry barriers and firms negotiate bilaterally. In the short run, consumers are not worse off with upstream mergers, since consolidation only results in a redistribution of industry rents. In the long run, consumers are better off after upstream mergers, since they induce more entry into that segment. When social welfare is evaluated, a limit on upstream consolidation may prevent excessive entry; but upstream entry can be sometimes insufficient, if the retailers' intrinsic bargaining power is excessive.     

THE EFFECTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL FORM IN THE MIXED MARKET FOR FOSTER CARE

ABSTRACT ** : This paper uses proprietary quality of care data to examine the consequences of organizational form in privatized US foster care services. The contract failure hypothesis generically proposes that nonprofits should provide higher quality services, relative to for‐profits, when output is costly to observe. Advocates argue that the nonprofits offer important consumer protections when public services are contracted to private agencies. Contrary to expectations, we find that nonprofit firms do not offer higher quality services. We explore the possibility that monitoring efforts by state regulators or competition among foster care agencies effectively mitigate the influence of organizational form in this particular mixed market.     

THE ESTIMATION OF PRICE EFFECTS IN A SOCIAL ACCOUNTING MATRIX

The estimation of true basic prices in a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) has long been recognized as necessary in order to achieve uniform valuation of inputs for meaningful manipulation of the input-output table contained in a SAM, in order to assess the real effects of changes in demand, etc. In practice, approximate basic prices only have normally been calculated in order to avoid matrix inversion among other things. It is equally the case that true basic prices are required if one wishes to assess the price-raising effects of commodity taxes. It is shown through an example that approximate basic prices, as conventionally calculated, are inadequate and potentially misleading for this as indeed they are for achieving uniformity of valuation. There are also problems with the present procedure for calculating true basic prices.
An alternative method of calculating true basic prices is given, which has various advantages over the existing method, and a new approximate method is also derived which appears to represent a definite improvement on the present method. For the main purpose of the paper, however, the prices of concern are those charged by producers to which the methodology equally applies.