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Division of domestic labour and lowest-low fertility in South Korea

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  • Erin Hye-Won Kim

    (University of Seoul)

Abstract

Background: One explanation offered for very low fertility has been the gap between improvements in women’s socioeconomic status outside the home and gender inequality in the home. The related empirical evidence is lacking for East Asian countries, where women may face particular challenges combining career and family due to the unique regional context. Objective: This paper provides an up-to-date picture of Korean women’s fertility intentions, fertility behaviour, and the division of domestic labour with husbands, parents, parents-in-law, and formal childcare services. It also examines how the informal and formal help women receive affects their fertility behaviour. Methods: Using data from the 2008, 2010, and 2012 waves of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families, this study describes fertility intentions, fertility behaviour, and the division of labour. Focusing on women with one child, I use logit regressions to estimate how various sources of help relate to the intended and unintended births of second children. Results: Fertility intentions were a good predictor of fertility behaviour. Both fertility intentions and behaviour displayed the greatest variability among women with one child. Husbands did not contribute much to domestic work, and gender inequality grew with parity. Husbands’ support in the domestic sphere increased the likelihood of intended births. Formal help also had a positive impact when its costs were not high, but parental help had no significant impact. None of these sources of help was related to unintended births. Contribution: Government policies that aim to address Korea’s low fertility would be wise to target women with one child. Empirical evidence from Korea supports the recent theoretical literature on the association of low fertility with gender inequity. Various sources of support that relieve women’s domestic labour burden and enhance their ability to reconcile work with family life may boost fertility rates in East Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Erin Hye-Won Kim, 2017. "Division of domestic labour and lowest-low fertility in South Korea," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(24), pages 743-768.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:37:y:2017:i:24
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.24
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Soomin Ryu & Jinhee Kim, 2021. "The influence of time, resource, and gender ideology on the division of domestic work in Korea," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(4), pages 1373-1397, December.
    2. Kim, Seh Young, 2022. "Analyzing the impacts of informal institutional factors affecting gender inequality: Evidence from 43 countries," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    3. Fleckenstein, Timo & Lee, Soohyun Christine & Mohun Himmelweit, Sam, 2023. "Labour market dualization, permanent insecurity and fertility: the case of ultra-low fertility in South Korea," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117935, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Yen-hsin Alice Cheng, 2020. "Ultra-low fertility in East Asia: Confucianism and its discontents," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 18(1), pages 83-120.
    5. Rim, Hyunseo & Kim, Jinho, 2024. "The influence of perceptions of gender discrimination in the workplace on depressive symptoms among Korean working women: The moderating role of job satisfaction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 341(C).
    6. Jolene Tan & Shao-Tzu Yu, 2024. "A life course perspective: women’s childhood background and family formation trajectories in low-fertility South Korea," Journal of Population Research, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 1-16, June.
    7. Man-Yee Kan & Ekaterina Hertog & Kamila Kolpashnikova, 2019. "Housework share and fertility preference in four East Asian countries in 2006 and 2012," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(35), pages 1021-1046.
    8. Erin Hye-Won Kim & Adam Ka-Lok Cheung, 2019. "The Gendered Division of Household Labor over Parenthood Transitions: A Longitudinal Study in South Korea," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 38(4), pages 459-482, August.
    9. Adam Ka-Lok Cheung & Erin Hye-Won Kim, 2022. "Domestic Outsourcing in an Ultra-Low Fertility Context: Employing Live-in Domestic Help and Fertility in Hong Kong," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(4), pages 1597-1618, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    domestic work; fertility intentions; fertility behavior; gender inequalities; grandparents; formal childcare; South Korea; longitudinal analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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