This paper examines reform measures for the National Pension System, analyzing their fiscal impacts. Despite past reforms adjusting contribution and replacement rates, the system faces ongoing sustainability challenges. We forecast that the reserve fund, peaking at 1,972.0 trillion KRW in 2039, will be depleted by 2054. A scenario analysis suggests that raising the contribution rate from 9% to 18% would extend solvency but not maintain long-term stability under the current DB structure, which promises benefits that exceed contributions. This highlights the difficulty of sustaining the fund through rate increases alone. This paper proposes a structural shift to a new cohort-based DC system (“New Pension”), which would provide benefits based on contributions and investment returns, avoiding depletion even with low birth rates. Under this plan, the “Old Pension” deficit would be supported by government funds, ensuring all generations receive at least their contributions back. For the Old Pension, the shortfall is projected to be 609 trillion KRW if limited to contributions through 2023, rising to 869 trillion KRW if extended to 2028. These results stress the importance of early reforms to ease the fiscal burden.
This study examines changes in sales by business category and area in Korea’s small commercial districts. Unlike previous studies that focused primarily on overall sales levels before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper emphasizes temporal variations in the inequality of sales distributions. Using credit-card-based data comprising 392,832 sales records aggregated by (category, area) units, the primary analysis reveals that sales distributions have recently become more dispersed across most categories, underscoring the vulnerability of less-advantaged areas in the post-pandemic period. In a secondary analysis, regression and machine learning models were applied to investigate factors influencing regional sales disparities. The findings indicate that although overall sales, which declined sharply during the pandemic, rebounded rapidly after 2021, they have shown a significant downturn in recent periods. The paper concludes with a discussion of relevant policy implications.
This study conducts a financial projection of the basic pension in Korea, which provides cash assistance to the bottom 70% of elderly individuals aged 65 and over. The projection is carried out under both expansion and selective eligibility criteria, with particular emphasis on the latter. Specifically, the study examines two well-discussed selective eligibility criteria: 1) fixing the eligibility threshold at the 2024 value and adjusting it according to the inflation rate, and 2) linking the eligibility threshold to the median household income figure. To estimate the number of recipients under these selective scenarios, the study projects the future income evolution of the elderly, assuming the continuation of past income trends. Using the financial model of the basic pension developed by Shin and Kim (2021), the study finds that total fiscal spending could be reduced by 22% under the first selective scenario and by 17% under the second selective scenario, relative to the current system, in real terms between 2024 and 2070. With these fiscal savings, the study concludes that the full benefit amount could be increased from the current level of 334,810 won to 435,000 won under the first scenario and to 405,000 won under the second scenario by 2025.
In this paper, we analyze the impact of external uncertainty shocks on the Korean economy, focusing on Russian geopolitical risks and U.S. monetary policy uncertainty. We find that increases in external uncertainties negatively affect the Korean macroeconomy, with a particularly pronounced impact on sectors highly dependent on external markets. Our micro-level analysis reveals that the effects of external uncertainties on exports vary across different countries and sectors. A firm-level analysis further suggests that Russian geopolitical risks primarily impact the economy through real friction, while U.S. monetary policy uncertainty affects it through both real and financial friction. By identifying multiple transmission channels through both a macro- and a micro-level analysis, we provide a comprehensive understanding of how uncertainty affects the real economy. Our findings could offer valuable insights for policymakers when responding to rapidly changing external conditions.
This paper examines whether product pioneers differ from product followers in their decision to establish a new plant to product a new product, utilizing a firm-plant-product dataset for Korean manufacturing from 1990 to 1996. We find that followers are more likely to establish a new plant rather than utilize existing plants to product a product which is new to the plant. We also find that establishing a new plant is accompanied by a larger investment than utilizing existing plants. These results seem consistent with the existence of pioneer-to-follower learning spillovers, possibly in the sense that followers face less uncertainty about the future profitability of the new product.
This paper examines the time-varying relationship between the labor market, inflation, and monetary policy, particularly in light of recent high inflation and a tight labor market, with a focus on data from Korea. Analyzing data from July 2009 to June 2023, we find that the impact of the job vacancy rate — an indicator of labor market conditions — on inflation has gradually increased over time. Furthermore, the responsiveness of inflation to changes in labor market conditions is found to be greater during periods of high inflation compared to low inflation. Lastly, the influence of monetary policy changes on the job vacancy rate is particularly pronounced during recessionary periods and after the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings suggest the possibility of convexity in the relationship between the labor market and inflation in Korea. In such a scenario, raising interest rates during high inflation could lead to a relatively larger decrease in inflation than in job vacancies, which could create a favorable situation for monetary policy management.
Korea’s National Pension Fund (NPF) is projected to be in deficit by the 2040s and exhausted by the 2050s. Increasing contribution rates may be unaffordable, prompting consideration of structural reforms, particularly shifting from a defined benefit (DB) to a defined contribution (DC) system. The DC system links benefits to contributions and investment returns, ensuring financial stability but raising concerns about income adequacy and redistribution. This study uses an overlapping generations model with heterogeneous agents to assess these reforms. By 2070, demographic changes will make the DB system unsustainable without substantial government subsidies, adversely affecting taxes, income, and savings. Conversely, the DC system would remain balanced without subsidies, resulting in lower interest rates, higher wages, and better economic output. The model shows that the DB system would require an annual subsidy of 11.3% of GDP at a 9% contribution rate by 2070, while the DC system would be self-sufficient. Even with lower returns, the DC system could be more efficient and equitable with partial subsidies, improving economic outcomes and reducing inequality.
This study documents self-employed workers’ characteristics associated with their career paths after a business closure in order to improve employment insurance for such workers. Utilizing work history data from the Korean Labor & Income Panel Survey, a competing-risks regression model is adopted in order to study how self-employed workers’ career paths after unemployment (i.e., business closure) vary according to their characteristics. The findings suggest that the post-closure career paths of self-employed workers are associated with (i) their revenue and income, (ii) the individuals’ demographic characteristics, and (iii) the industry in which they operate. Several policy implications for employment insurance that better caters to the needs of self-employed workers are derived from the empirical results.
Although there are many news articles of tariff dodging via the re-routing of made-in-China goods through third countries, relabeling these goods as made in Mexico or made in Vietnam, there have been no scientific studies on this issue. This paper provides statistical evidence regarding whether such practices are taking place. Using monthly trade statistics at the most disaggregated level and analyzing data up to 2019, the year before the COVID-19 shock, little evidence of roundabout trade is found. With an extended dataset up to 2023, overall there is little sign of roundabout trade, although some slight signs of roundabout trade are found for Mexico and Vietnam.
This study empirically investigates how the exports of downstream products to the US change the imports of their upstream products from China during the US-China tariff war. To accomplish this, we use province-level trade data in Vietnam, known to be a country that increased its exports to the US market in place of China, i.e., known to enjoy a trade diversion in the US market. The use of regional trade data enables us to capture the input-output linkages more precisely. Specifically, focusing on the trade in general and electrical machinery industries from January of 2019 to December of 2023, we regress imports of upstream products from China on exports of their downstream products to the US, finding that the rise of exports of downstream products to the US significantly increases imports of their upstream products from China. On the other hand, the rise in these products does not significantly increase the imports of upstream products from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Furthermore, the input-output linkage between exports to the US and imports from China was found to be greater in provinces with better business environments in terms of entry costs, transparency in public services, and public support to businesses.
This paper aims to examine the economic impact of the implementation of an unemployment insurance (UI) program for entrepreneurs in South Korea. Despite facing labor market risks similar to paid employees, entrepreneurs are often not eligible for UI in many countries. South Korea, where entrepreneurs represent over 20% of the workforce, is considering a design of UI for entrepreneurs, with the goal of providing coverage to this group by 2025. This study examines how the addition of UI for entrepreneurs would impact the economy using a model of entrepreneurship based on a search and matching framework. The study’s findings suggest that the implementation of UI for entrepreneurs would lead to increased business closures and reduced hiring, resulting in a slack labor market, which in turn would reduce social welfare overall. However, social welfare can be improved by subsidizing UI contributions paid by entrepreneurs, which provides the greatest improvement in social welfare compared to other social protection systems such as unemployment assistance.
This study empirically investigates the impact of recent US export controls on China on South Korea’s semiconductor exports. We analyze South Korean export data to shed light on the repercussions of US export restrictions on a third country. Our findings reveal a significant decline in Korean semiconductor exports following the October 2022 imposition of US controls. This decline was most pronounced in the memory, discrete devices, and discrete device components subsectors of the semiconductor industry. In addition, we observed a decrease in unit prices, especially for memory semiconductors, pointing to downward pressure on South Korea’s high-value-added semiconductor exports. These results provide some evidence of substantial negative impacts of US export controls on South Korea’s semiconductor industry, and particularly with regard to its high-tech products.
The import content of export (ICE) has served as an indicator of global integration for several decades. It is defined as the share of imported products embodied in exports and can be interpreted as the relative degree of the utilization of global production network (GPN) over the domestic supply chain (DSC) in terms of ‘value-added.’ This paper proposes two new indicators of global integration. They are defined as the ratios of imports (foreign products) to gross output (domestic products) generated by exports and can be interpreted as the relative degrees of the utilization of GPN over DSC in terms of ‘production.’ Both indicators are easy to compute and can be compared between years, between countries, between industries, and between groups of industries. The paper applies the new indicators to the recent edition of the OECD’s Input-Output Database. Finally, the paper shows that the recent slowdown in international trade is mostly due to the decrease in the international trade of intermediate goods, with significant implications regarding the future of global integration.
This paper provides a new theoretical rationale for public procurement for innovation (PPI), a unique policy encouraging public procurers to purchase innovative products. In contrast to existing studies that primarily emphasize the advantages of PPI, this paper takes a comprehensive approach, examining both the costs and risks associated with PPI, alongside its benefits. It finds a general condition under which PPI outperforms traditional public procurement. Under this condition, this paper demonstrates that PPI enhances social welfare by facilitating optimal risk-sharing between public procurers and the general economy. Additionally, it draws policy implications from a comparative analysis between the current PPI policy in Korea and an optimal PPI policy.
This study analyzes the impact of secondary tax liability borne by stockholders, an exception to the principle of limited liability, on corporate investment. The paper constructs a model of a firm to examine the effect of this secondary tax liability, finding that the violation of limited liability increases firms’ expected bankruptcy costs, thereby reducing investments. By means of an empirical analysis, the paper examines whether firms with the largest shareholder stake exceeding 50%, the condition under which secondary tax liability is incurred, decrease their investments. The results show that firm investment is highly concentrated in observations of cases in which the largest shareholder stake does not exceed 50%. Investments decrease sharply in cases where the largest shareholder stake exceeds 50%. The results here provide implications pertaining to how exceptions of the limited liability principle, existing only in Korea, affect corporate investments.
The Bank of Korea, through a legal amendment in 2011 following the financial crisis, was entrusted with the additional responsibility of financial stability beyond its existing mandate of price stability. Since then, concerns have been raised about the prolonged increase in household debt compared to income conditions, which could constrain consumption and growth and increase the possibility of a crisis in the event of negative economic shocks. The current accumulation of financial imbalances suggests a critical period for the government and central bank to be more vigilant, ensuring it does not impede the stable flow of our financial and economic systems. This study examines the applicability of the Integrated Inflation Targeting (IIT) framework proposed by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) for macro-financial stability in promoting long-term economic stability. Using VAR models, the study reveals a clear increase in risk appetite following interest rate cuts after the financial crisis, leading to a rise in household debt. Additionally, analyzing the central bank's conduct of monetary policy from 2000 to 2021 through DSGE models indicates that the Bank of Korea has operated with a form of IIT, considering both inflation and growth in its policy decisions, with some responsiveness to the increase in household debt. However, the estimation of a high interest rate smoothing coefficient suggests a cautious approach to interest rate adjustments. Furthermore, estimating the optimal interest rate rule to minimize the central bank's loss function reveals that a policy considering inflation, growth, and being mindful of household credit conditions is superior. It suggests that the policy of actively adjusting the benchmark interest rate in response to changes in economic conditions and being attentive to household credit situations when household debt is increasing rapidly compared to income conditions has been analyzed as a desirable policy approach. Based on these findings, we conclude that the integrated inflation targeting framework proposed by the BIS could be considered as an alternative policy system that supports the stable growth of the economy in the medium to long term.
The effects of the betterment of enforced intellectual property rights (IPRs) provisions on services export diversification are investigated. The analysis used an unbalanced panel dataset of 76 developing countries over the period of 1970-2014. The empirical analysis is based on the feasible generalized least squares estimator. It suggests that the implementation of weaker IPR protection fosters services export diversification in less developed countries (i.e., those whose real per capita incomes are less than US$ 1458.60), including those with a low level of export product upgrading. Conversely, in relatively advanced developing countries (countries whose real per capita income exceeds US$ 3356.80), including those with high levels of export product upgrading, the implementation of stronger IPR laws induces greater services export diversification. Finally, the analysis revealed the existence of a non-linear relationship between IPR protection and services export diversification. The implementation of stronger intellectual property laws spurs services export diversification in countries with high degree of IPR protection, especially when IPR protection exceeds a certain level, recorded here as having a score of 1.197. In contrast, in countries with weaker IPR protection, in particular those with IPR protection levels that score less than 0.915, it is rather the implementation of weaker intellectual property laws that promotes services export diversification.
Since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-2009, the importance of non-bank financial institutions in macroprudential management has increased significantly. Consequently, major countries and international financial institutions have been actively discussing and implementing macroprudential supervision and regulation for non-bank financial institutions (NBFI). In this context, this paper analyzes the systemic risk of both banks and non-bank sectors (securities firms and insurance companies) in South Korea over different time periods. Using the widely recognized ΔCoVaR methodology for measuring systemic risk, the analysis reveals that systemic risk increased substantially across all three sectors (banks, securities firms, and insurance companies) during the Global Financial Crisis, the European Sovereign Debt Crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the banking sector exhibited relatively high systemic risk compared to the securities and insurance sectors, the relative differences in systemic risk varied across the different crisis periods. Notably, during the margin call crisis in March of 2020, the gap in systemic risk between the banking and securities sectors decreased significantly compared to that during both the Global Financial Crisis and the European Sovereign Debt Crisis, indicating that securities firms had a more substantial impact on risk in the overall financial system during this period. Furthermore, I analyze the impact of the issuance of equity-linked securities (ELS) by financial institutions on systemic risk, as measured by ΔCoVaR, finding that an increase in the outstanding balance of ELS issuance by financial institutions had an impact on increasing ΔCoVaR during the three crisis periods. These findings underscore the growing importance of non-bank financial institutions in relation to South Korea’s macroprudential management and supervision. To address this evolving landscape, enhanced monitoring and regulatory measures focusing on non-bank systemic risk are essential components of maintaining financial stability in the country.
We review the literature on the effectiveness of capital controls and macroprudential measures. First, we explain the purposes and examples of capital controls and macroprudential policies. We then analyze various theoretical models and empirical findings from prior studies that investigate the effectiveness of each instrument. Moreover, we review several studies that directly compare the two instruments and discuss whether policymakers should implement capital controls or macroprudential measures to overcome financial crises. Finally, based on a discussion of the findings of previous studies, we suggest several possible avenues for future research.
To investigate the causes of Korea’s growth slowdown over the past thirty years, we estimate the contributions of major developmental factors, including i) demographic factors (changes in population growth and workforce age due to the demographic transition), ii) quality-of-life-related choice factors (changes in working hours, education, and the female employment rate), iii) structural change, and iv) the effects of productivity catch-up. Our estimates show that these four groups of factors account for approximately 90 percent of the growth slowdown, with demographic factors contributing approximately 30 percent and the other three groups of factors each contributing about 20 percent. We also show that the same factors explain most of Korea’s high growth in the 1980s. These results suggest that Korea’s growth slowdown is basically a consequence of its successful economic development and that the high growth and subsequent slowdown can be regarded as a single process. In addition, given that the factors examined here exhibit similar patterns of change in the course of economic development of most countries, we think that our estimation results of the relationship between economic development and changes in economic growth trends could have more general implications that go beyond Korea’s experience.
