Strategy-proofness and efficiency in a simple production economy

We consider an economy with two agents, “firm” and “worker.” The firm owns a technology which transforms a single input into a single output and the worker owns a limited amount of input good, for example, leisure. The firm is interested in profit measured in terms of output and the worker's preferences are defined over the input-output space. Manipulability comes not only from a lack of information about the (worker's) preferences but also about the technology. With a possibility for manipulation, can we still obtain efficient allocations? We show that there is no allocation mechanism which is Pareto efficient, strategy-proof, and non-dictatorial. Received: 30 March 1998/Accepted: 06 July 1999     

Parental attitudes towards education: What matters for children's well-being?

This study explores the potential influence of parental attitudes towards education on their children's daily life and their development in Korea. Qualitative methodologies were used; semi-structured in-depth interviews with 34 participants. The findings suggest that the desire of the parents for the educational success of their children is profound and it has a huge impact on their actual behavior towards their children. Although there was a contrast between what parents should want and the underlying preoccupying concern, all of the parents placed great importance on their children's academic achievement as a means to acquire personal advancement, higher social status, and wealth. The children's developmental needs for leisure, pleasure, and sleeping are overlooked. Their psychological and emotional well-being tends to be ignored. Focusing on the best interests of children is going too far for some in Korean society. This study concludes that behind the idea of well-being of children and fulfilling each child's potential must lie fundamental values concerning the needs, interests and welfare of children. This must be put at the heart of our policies and practices.     

Ashore on the Land of Joiners: Intergenerational Social Incorporation of Immigrants1

Juxtaposing two clichés, “the land of immigrants” and “the land of joiners,” poses an intriguing question: Do they fit in with each other? In other words, is Tocqueville's oft‐quoted dictum —“Americans of all ages, all stations of life, and all types of disposition are forever forming associations”— applicable to immigrants as well? Focusing on the process of social incorporation of immigrants that connects the two sides, and taking advantage of the unique features of the dataset, the study examines intergenerational patterns of immigrants' participation in voluntary associations. Substantial variations across generations and association types are found, and their pathways of social incorporation are charted.     

Financial Crisis and Social Security: The Paradox of the Republic of Korea

This paper seeks to answer the questions why and how the social security system in the Republic of Korea has expanded in the wake of the financial crisis. The author first reviews the characteristics of the Korean welfare system before turning to the social effects of the financial crisis, then examining the resultant changes to the social security system and highlighting the driving forces behind them. The paper argues that the development of the system can be mainly attributed to the change of policy networks from a symbiotic alliance between the State and business to a tripartite corporatismand growing social demands for social welfare.     

Contingent factors: Modeling generic public relations practice in South Korea

This study identified which contingent variables public relations practitioners perceive as influential to their practice in South Korea. They responded that a number of contingent variables influence public relations activities and emphasized the influence of individual and organizational level variables on their practice. Practitioners at the management level perceived organizational level variables as influential while the staff level indicated PR department variables as dominant to their practice. Public relations practitioners whose main function is government relations tended to acknowledge a greater influence of organizational level variables. Most notably, public relations practitioners cited the constraints of negative information release and conflict situations.     

Subjective Quality of Korean Life in 1981 and 2001

Social Indicators Research - Over the past two decades, Korea has been transformed into an economic powerhouse, a maturing democracy, a nation of cities, and a society of mixed cultures. How have...     

Perceptions of quality of life in an industrializing country: The case of the Republic of Korea

Research on perceived quality of life to date has been confined to industrialized countries mostly in the West. As a result, very little has been known about the quality of life perceived and desired by the people living in industrializing countries. This study has sought to fill this void by analyzing data collected from a national sample survey conducted recently in Korea. The analysis has produced a number of results which do not accord with those from research undertaken in industrialized countries.     

INFLATION AND WAGE RIGIDITY/FLEXIBILITY IN THE SHORT RUN

A recent literature uses accurate wage data from payroll records and provides compelling evidence against the conventional belief that nominal wages are downward sticky. This paper provides a unique contribution to this literature by conducting a formal analysis of the role of inflation in cyclical wage rigidity/flexibility. Analysis of payroll‐based wage data from the Korean labor market for the period 1971–2014 finds that the degree of downward nominal wage flexibility is countercyclical, and the countercyclicality becomes stronger during a deflationary, relative to inflationary, recession. This serves as a counter‐example to the conventional theory of cyclical wage rigidity. (JEL E24, E32, J30, J64)     

Relative Deprivation,Satisfying Rationality,and Support for Redistribution

Why do individuals support redistribution? Many studies have investigated the factors that influence support for redistribution; however, none have confirmed the role of income satisfaction. The aim of this study is to explore the role of income satisfaction in its support of the mechanism for redistribution. In this study, I suggest relative deprivation theory and the concept of satisfying rationality , as both give income satisfaction a theoretical position. Based on this framework, I argue that income satisfaction could be an indicator of relative deprivation and is understood as the basis of rational action. Specifically, I suggest the mechanism of relative deprivation that a feeling of unfairness weakens income satisfaction, and deterioration in income satisfaction leads individuals to support redistribution. To support this argument, I conduct multilevel path analysis using World Value Survey 6 waves focusing on the OECD countries. I first examine the direct effect of income satisfaction on support for redistribution and find a statistical association between income satisfaction and support for redistribution. Then, I check the relationship between income satisfaction and feeling of unfairness to validate income satisfaction as an indicator of relative deprivation. These findings imply that scholars need to pay more attention to the substantial role of individuals’ subjective reaction to the objective economic conditions.