KJC Korea
Journal Central

In this paper we compare reemployment bonuses in the Employment Insurance Systems of Korea, Japan and the USA with the three basic components: the bonus amount, the qualification period, and the reemployment period. Based on this comparative analysis we try to suggest how to reform reemployment bonuses in Korea. Korea's reemployment bonuses are much more generous than those of three field experiments conducted in the USA in the 1980s. Also, at the introduction of the Employment Insurance System, Korea's reemployment bonuses was similar in generosity to those of Japan, but after the program change in 2004 the Korean program has been more generous than the Japanese program. This is because the program has been operated without explicitly considering the objective of reducing the UI expenditure costs. Therefore, when reforming the program, policy-makers should consider the objective of reducing the UI expenditure costs as well as enhancing early reemployment of the unemployed.

This paper aims to analyze the refugee policy between Australia, Canada, France and Germany. The access, treatment and acceptance of refugee status applicants and resettlement of refugee status owners are criteria for this analysis. The four criteria of each country are graded as good, not bad, bad. Australia has good grade at resettlement, but bad at access, treatment and acceptance. Australia is open only to whom Australia needs at labor market, but more exclusive to refugee than Canada, France and Germany. So Australia has instrumental feature at immigration policy. There are similar feature at refugee policy between France and Germany. The grade of these two countries policy is not bad. But resettlement policy of France is better that of Germany that has effect of nation state. Canada has all good grades at four criteria, so most progressive policy than other three countries.

This study is analyzed to apply modernization perspective targeted women's pension system in Japan. With this it is driven two frameworks on the basis of modernization perspective and these are secures of pension right and gender equality right. Pension right is analyzed how pension system deals with change of various lifestyle by women. The objects are class 3 insured system, survivor pension and part-time labor pension. Gender equality right is analyzed targeted pension-splitting system and care credit whether the gender discrimination solves or not. Therefore women's pension system in Japan is reliant on husband's job and the gap of pension right between qualifications is growing. Part-time labor is also inadequate and is seen discrimination of non-employee by a survivor's pension. Gender equality right is progressing carrying out pension-splitting system and care credit but has to compensate different application about supply and demand. As a result modernization perspective consists of institutional device and contents supplementation has to add. The process thereafter narrows the member gap in a classified separation system through new pension system and especially we expect to come true faithfully establishing pension right and gender equally right of women's pension.

The research of this paper is on the flexi-work acts and women's employment policy. The flexi-work has been kept as the effective way to solve the problems of low women's employment rate at one side, to achieve the gender equal treatment, and the work-life-balance at the other side. Otherwise, this flexi-work(part-time, flexi-time, alternative work schedule, discretionary work, compressed work, core time work, at home work etc.), different from the positive intention and purpose, is being criticised as the bad work of low wage and precarious employment because of the characteristics of Korean labour market with the overwhelmingly discriminated non-standard work. This treatise tries to analyse the truth or falsehood of this argument. Since the early 90‘s, the various types of flexi-work and the related acts have been gradually introduced to from the international organizations like the ILO(the convention on part-time work) and EU(the directives on maternity leave, part-time work, and fixed-term contract work) to the important foreign countries(in the Netherlands,United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, USA etc.). This trend on the flexi-work and related legislations is due to the various backgrounds such as the increasing competition in the labour market, the diversification of employment types, the gender-equality oriented employment policy, and the increasing voluntary choices. The key point of legislation has been oriented to keep the balance between the introduction of flexi-work and the non-discriminated work. The alternative form may be the decent 'permanent part-time work'. In this context, this treatise is reviewing the three representative laws concerning the flexi-work such as 「Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation」, 「Labor Standards Act」, 「Act on the Protection etc. of Fixed-term and Part-time Employees」. At the same time, the treatise reviews critically the employment practice in the Korean labour market, which shows the overwhelmingly precarious non-standard work. The key argument of this treatise is that to increase the rate of women's employment should be first completed through the working time reduction and at the same time it emphasizes several preconditions for the introduction of the positive flexi-work(the 'decent', 'non-discriminated' work, and the gender-equality and work-life-balance oriented work).

This study began by a research question whether or not a genuine user involvement based on power redistribution is possible, and by what conditions. The recently launched UK Advisory Forum on Ageing and older persons' involvement in the policy process is chosen as a case study as it represents a new initiative by the British government to "empower older people's engagement" by establishing a consultation body at the national level. We understand that user involvement in the participatory democratic approach is feasible only when a meaningful power redistribution is made and that the power redistribution can be achieved by meeting the following three conditions. Firstly, older participants in the process shall need to be respected and trusted as equal partners. Secondly, opportunities to participate in the policy process, as well as practical support for it (such as provision of physical arena and of financial support to attend any meetings), shall be provided. Lastly, supports to develop older persons' human resources and capacity building for active participation are also required. Only when these three conditions are met, the user involvement can be referred as genuine, with power being distributed to so-far marginalised users. The conclusion of this study is that for a genuine and successful user involvement in the policy process, the strong and continuous government support is necessary. The conclusion also includes implications for Korea where the desire for participation in policy-making process on ageing will be stronger around the time of retirement of the baby-boom generation in the foreseen future.

It is generally said that changes in the Japanese welfare state since the early 1990s have been made by the government's responses to an aging society, in particular the increase of public pensions and health care for the elderly. In addition to this explanation, the following article argues that the change of production regime brought about by the lasting economic recession since the early 1990s has had an effect on the welfare regime, contributing to the expansion of state welfare. Japan had drawn great praise due to the unique characteristics of its production regime, which has maintained an institutional setting composed of the following: stable industrial relations with the lifelong employment system, a financial system providing patient capital based on the relationship between the main bank and enterprises, the stakeholder's enterprise governance system, the cooperative relationship among enterprises in keiretse(large conglomerates). After the collapse of its bubble economy, however, Japan has experienced a gradual change of the production regime from a stakeholder market economy to a shareholder market economy. The ratio of financial institutions(mainly banks) and non financial institutions(mainly employees) in the ownership of shares has decreased, while the ratio of foreign investors and individual shareholders has increased. Enterprises have increased the employment of irregular workers in order to reduce labor costs and raise labour flexibility. The stable collective industrial relations have been weakened by the introduction of new personal management skills, in particular the transition from seniority based wage system to performance based wage system. The institutional changes in the Japanese production regime have led to a break of institutional complementarities between the production regime and the welfare regime that had provided comparative institutional advantages prior to the collapse of the bubble economy. Full employment based on lifelong employment as well as generous enterprise welfare, which complemented a relatively low level of state welfare, has become increasingly difficult to maintain. Japanese enterprises have significantly decreased the expenditure of voluntary enterprise welfare. They have tended to consolidate the protection of insiders-that is, regular workers- but outsiders, irregular workers, have been discriminated against in wage, enterprise welfare, and social security. Growing concerns about social security contributions paid by enterprises have made Japanese enterprises prefer to ease their social security burden and instead increase the state's burden. Thus, the expansion of state welfare accompanied by the reforms of the social security system since the early 1990s have been influenced by the changed preferences and interests of enterprises regarding social welfare. They have reformed the selective affinity between production regime and welfare regime and as a result, the welfare mix has shifted towards the reduction of voluntary enterprise welfare and the expansion of state welfare.

This paper is aimed at looking into reform steps OECD and EU countries have taken in response to the need for raising the coverage, equity, and financial stability of their post-retirement income protection systems, and providing policy suggestions for the improvement of Korea’s pension schemes. Making reference to a large body of previous literature and reports, this paper takes up an analysis of policy changes since the 1990s in post-retirement income protection systems in a number of OECD and EU countries. The effect of individual policy changes of note made to pension systems of these countries are analyzed using cross-sectional data sets in linear regression models. Many countries around the world have made changes to their post-retirement income protection systems, and since the 1990s, in particular, such changes have been, if gradual, strong in their impact in the long-term. Pension reforms under review are both paradigmatic and parametric. For most countries in reform of their pension systems chose a combination of both paradigmatic parametric changes. It is important, however, to notice that the effect of parametric changes is not necessarily insignificant and the effect of paradigmatic changes is not always significant. When pension reforms take place, they take place with a view to raising equity and financial stability, but not unaccompanied by additional measures to address the problem of coverage. The participation rate and replacement level of a pension scheme are found to have significant effect on coverage. As to the financing of pension, many countries have taken reforms steps away from the previous pay-as-you-go basis to strengthening the funded component over time. Parametric reforms are an important policy instrument to increase financial stability. Many of the countries under examination are found to have taken parametric reform steps in the form of a combination of a direct downward adjustment of income replacement level, changes in benefit formula and the pensionable age, and shift to price-indexation. The effect of the upward adjustment of the pensionable age as a response to ever-increasing life expectancy is considered significant. A variety of policy measures will have to be taken to increase the financial stability of Korea’s post-retirement income protection system, and to this additional measures must be taken to reduce the adverse impact of demographic aging.

Based on the work of the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health’s Employment Conditions Network, this article describes and analyses the link between employment conditions and health inequalities using a comparative approach. More specifically, we present an overview of our macro- and micro-theoretical framework, a summary of the existing empirical evidence on the effect of employment conditions as cause of health inequalities, and a global typology of employment conditions and health. We end with a summary of scientific findings reviewed in this article, and suggestions for a direction for policy interventions to reduce health inequalities associated with employment conditions in countries at different levels of economic development.