Multidimensional child poverty in South Korea: Developing measures to assess progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

This article presents the development of a measure to assess the prevalence and patterning of multidimensional child poverty in South Korea. The first goal of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to reduce poverty in all its dimensions, and countries are increasingly developing their own measures of multidimensional poverty. This flourishing of different measures presents challenges for international comparisons. The article applies an internationally-validated method of assessing multidimensional poverty to demonstrate its suitability for use in a high-income Asian economy. Multidimensional child poverty is assessed by combining data on child material deprivation with their household income. Using data from the 2018 Korean National Children Survey, we show that child material deprivation is higher (15%) than income poverty (12%). When measured using a combined measure of material deprivation and income, around one in every three children in Korea were found to be either poor or vulnerable to poverty. These findings show that the official monetary poverty measure on its own may understate the percentage of children unable to afford necessities in Korea, as envisioned by international targets like the SDGs. In terms of policy, analysis of individual deprivations suggests that a combination of in-kind benefits such as vouchers for leisure activities or education and asset-building programmes as well as cash transfers are needed for tackling child poverty

Asset-Based Policy in South Korea

Asset building was first discussed at the 56th Korean National Meetings in November 2004. In November 2006, the conference “Toward a New Paradigm in Social Policy: The Potential of Child Development Accounts in Asset-Based Social Policy,” organized by the Korean Labor Institute and Chung Ang University, generated substantial discussion and reinforced interest in asset-based policy in Korea

Savings ownership and the use of maternal health services in Indonesia

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), many women of reproductive age experience morbidity and mortality attributable to inadequate access to and use of health services. Access to personal savings has been identified as a potential instrument for empowering women and improving access to and use of health services. Few studies, however, have examined the relation between savings ownership and use of maternal health services. In this study, we used data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey to examine the relation between women’s savings ownership and use of maternal health services. To estimate the effect of obtaining savings ownership on our primary outcomes, specifically receipt of antenatal care, delivery in a health facility and delivery assisted by a skilled attendant, we used a propensity score weighted difference-in-differences approach. Our findings showed that acquiring savings ownership increased the proportion of women who reported delivering in a health facility by 22 percentage points [risk difference (RD) = 0.22, 95%CI = 0.08–0.37)] and skilled birth attendance by 14 percentage points (RD = 0.14, 95%CI = 0.03–0.25). Conclusions were qualitatively similar across a range of model specifications used to assess the robustness of our main findings. Results, however, did not suggest that savings ownership increased the receipt of antenatal care, which was nearly universal in the sample. Our findings suggest that under certain conditions, savings ownership may facilitate the use of maternal health services, although further quasi-experimental and experimental research is needed to address threats to internal validity and strengthen causal inference, and to examine the impact of savings ownership across different contexts

The condition of asset poverty and the impact of an asset-based intervention in South Korea

Background: In recent years, scholars and stakeholders around the world have questioned whether income transfers alone can effectively mitigate poverty and inequality. In response to these concerns, in Korea as well as in other countries, asset-based interventions have been initiated to complement traditional income-transfer programs. Although various asset-building programs have been implemented in Korea since 2007, these programs were developed without a consensus on the definition of assets and asset poverty, and without a thorough understanding of the actual conditions of the asset poor in the Korean context. This lack of understanding has led to logical contradictions embedded in the asset-based policy itself, and has limited the effectiveness of policy implementations. This dissertation aims to fill multiple gaps in the scholarly research on asset poverty and propose a direction for more effective asset-based anti-poverty strategies in Korea. It is divided into three complementary studies. In the first, I measure the dynamics of asset poverty using longitudinal panel data from the last ten years (2005 to 2014). In the second, I test the association between asset poverty and material hardship. In the third, I estimate the impact of participation in Korea's nation-wide asset-building program, the Hope Growing Account (Hope), on household economic well-being between 2010 and 2012. Methods: I used three different data sources and four different analytical models for this dissertation. The primarily data source is the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS), a longitudinal panel dataset annually conducted since 2006. The other two data sources are the Hope panel study established by Choi, Han, Choi, and Park (2010) and administrative data on Hope participants' earned income gathered by the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare (KMOHW). The four models used in this analysis are the dynamic panel model of discrete choice (study 1), the binary logistic regression model (study 2), propensity score matching (PSM), and the difference-in-differences (DID) model (study 3). Results: Findings reveal that asset poverty in Korea was structurally persistent for the decade studied (2005 to 2014), and the asset poor were more vulnerable to material hardship than estimated by the income poverty measure. Asset-building programs (as distinct from income transfer programs) have gained attention as a way to mitigate poverty over the long term, and this dissertation found that the Hope asset-building program in Korea helped some but not all participants increase earnings and improve their poverty status over the period studied (2010 to 2012). Conclusions and Implications: The findings from this dissertation have policy and research implications for the field of social welfare. To address the condition of asset poverty, I suggest that a progressive asset-based policy including social insurance and a public assistance program should be implemented in Korea to enhance home ownership and complement the existing social security system. To empirically support the creation of new, more effective policies, future research should examine the extent of asset poverty reproduction across generations in Korea, and other potential long-term treatment impacts of asset-based intervention such as changes in asset ownership, civic engagement, and behavior. Contexte : Depuis quelques années, les chercheurs et les intervenants du monde entier se demandent si les transferts de revenus peuvent, à eux seuls, atténuer efficacement la pauvreté et les inégalités. En réponse à ces préoccupations, la Corée et d'autres pays proposent des interventions fondées sur les actifs en complément des programmes traditionnels de transfert de revenus. Bien que divers programmes d'accumulation d'actifs soient en place depuis 2007 en Corée, ces programmes ont été élaborés sans qu'il y ait consensus en ce qui concerne la définition d'actifs et de pauvreté par manque d'actifs et sans bien comprendre les conditions actuelles des personnes pauvres par manque d'actifs dans le contexte coréen. Cette thèse vise à combler les nombreuses lacunes des travaux de recherche portant sur la pauvreté par manque d'actifs et propose une orientation pour des stratégies plus efficaces de lutte contre la pauvreté fondées sur les actifs en Corée. La thèse se divise en trois études complémentaires. Dans la première étude, je mesure la dynamique de la pauvreté par manque d'actifs à l'aide de données de panel longitudinales des dix dernières années (de 2005 à 2014). Dans la deuxième étude, j'examine le lien entre la pauvreté par manque d'actifs et les difficultés d'ordre matériel. Dans le troisième, j'évalue l'impact de la participation à un programme national d'accumulation d'actifs en Corée, le Hope Growing Account (Hope), sur la prospérité économique des foyers entre 2010 et 2012. Méthodologie : Trois sources de données différentes et quatre modèles analytiques différents ont été utilisés pour cette thèse. La principale source de données est la Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS), un ensemble de données longitudinales recueillies annuellement depuis 2006. Les autres sources de données sont l'étude par panel Hope, instaurée par Choi, Han, Choi et Park (2010), et les données administratives sur les revenus gagnés par les participants de l'étude HOPE recueillies par le ministère de la Santé et de la Protection sociale de la Corée (KMOHW). Les quatre modèles utilisés pour l'analyse sont le modèle dynamique de choix discrets (étude 1), le modèle de la régression logique binaire (étude 2), le modèle de l'appariement des coefficients de propension (ACP) et le modèle des doubles différences (MDD) (étude 3). Résultats : Les résultats révèlent que la pauvreté par manque d'actifs en Corée était structurellement chronique pendant la décennie à l'étude (2005 à 2014) et que les personnes pauvres par manque d'actifs étaient plus vulnérables aux difficultés d'ordre matériel que ne l'indiquait la mesure de pauvreté du revenu. Les programmes d'accumulation d'actifs (distincts des programmes de transfert de revenus) ont retenu l'attention comme façon d'atténuer la pauvreté à long terme. Cette thèse fait le constat que le programme Hope d'accumulation d'actifs en Corée a aidé certains des participants, mais pas tous, à augmenter leurs revenus et à améliorer leur niveau de pauvreté au cours de la période à l'étude (2010 à 2012). Conclusions et implications : Les résultats de cette thèse ont des implications politiques et en matière de recherche dans le domaine du travail social. Pour améliorer les conditions de pauvreté par manque d'actifs, je suggère qu'une politique progressive d'accumulation d'actifs comprenant un programme public d'assurance sociale et d'aide sociale soit élaborée en Corée pour accroître l'accès à la propriété, en complément du système de sécurité sociale actuel. Pour soutenir de façon empirique la création de politiques nouvelles et plus efficaces, de futures recherches devraient examiner l'ampleur de la reproduction de la pauvreté par manque d'actifs en Corée de génération en génération, ainsi que d'autres effets potentiels à long terme des interventions fondées sur des actifs comme des changements dans la propriété des actifs, l'engagement civique et les comportements

Asset Poverty and Material Hardship in South Korea

Decades of research and experience with anti-poverty programs around the world have revealed that there is more to poverty than simply maintaining a certain income level. However, until recently, poverty analysis in Korea has been mostly based on income. This study examines the multidimensional living conditions of the poor and its causes in Korea by testing the association between the material hardship and asset and income poverty. Material hardship is a direct poverty measure to identify the poor as those whose actual consumption fails to meet the basic needs. The main purpose of this study is to contribute to our understanding of the living conditions of the poor and the causes of material hardship including food, housing, utilities, and health hardship. Using the binary logistic regression analysis, this study found that households who were poor only in assets (and not income) were more likely than households who were income poor but not asset poor to experience all types of material hardship except for food. This finding suggests that the asset poor are more vulnerable to material hardship than is estimated by the income poverty measure. We describe how future research needs to expand hardship measures to encompass various living conditions in relation to the current Korean social context. This study implies that policy responses to poverty could be improved to the extent they consider the type and amount of a household’s available economic resources

Dynamics of Asset Poverty in South Korea

Following the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997, Korea has suffered what many consider to be a severe poverty problem. Despite policy efforts to reduce poverty and economic recovery in the early 2000s, poverty affects many households and certain households are at risk of staying in poverty once they are in it. Using longitudinal panel data from 2005 to 2014, this study defines three indicators of poverty based on asset holdings, rather than income. It then examines the dynamics of asset poverty in Korea across the study period. The study’s primary goal is to reveal differences across the three indicators and identify which groups of poor people in Korea have been structurally trapped in poverty. We applied a dynamic panel model of discrete choice to the Korean Welfare Panel Study (KOWEPS) from the 1st to 10th waves and show that, despite the indicator, the asset poor who experienced asset poverty in the previous surveyed year or at wave 1 are likely to fall into structural and persistent poverty over time. In addition, the probability of incurring asset poverty decreased with home ownership, higher disposable income, and greater diversification of the household portfolio. Future research should study the duration of asset poverty to complete a comprehensive picture of the asset poverty condition

Savings ownership and the use of maternal health services in Indonesia

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), many women of reproductive age experience morbidity and mortality attributable to inadequate access to and use of health services. Access to personal savings has been identified as a potential instrument for empowering women and improving access to and use of health services. Few studies, however, have examined the relation between savings ownership and use of maternal health services. In this study, we used data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey to examine the relation between women’s savings ownership and use of maternal health services. To estimate the effect of obtaining savings ownership on our primary outcomes, specifically receipt of antenatal care, delivery in a health facility and delivery assisted by a skilled attendant, we used a propensity score weighted difference-in-differences approach. Our findings showed that acquiring savings ownership increased the proportion of women who reported delivering in a health facility by 22 percentage points [risk difference (RD) = 0.22, 95%CI = 0.08–0.37)] and skilled birth attendance by 14 percentage points (RD = 0.14, 95%CI = 0.03–0.25). Conclusions were qualitatively similar across a range of model specifications used to assess the robustness of our main findings. Results, however, did not suggest that savings ownership increased the receipt of antenatal care, which was nearly universal in the sample. Our findings suggest that under certain conditions, savings ownership may facilitate the use of maternal health services, although further quasi-experimental and experimental research is needed to address threats to internal validity and strengthen causal inference, and to examine the impact of savings ownership across different contexts