Premium
Multidimensional Inequality in South Korea: An Empirical Analysis
Author(s) -
Jung HaeSik,
Kim SooWan,
Ahn SangHoon
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
asian social work and policy review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.286
H-Index - 13
eISSN - 1753-1411
pISSN - 1753-1403
DOI - 10.1111/aswp.12034
Subject(s) - inequality , social inequality , social capital , economic inequality , dimension (graph theory) , welfare , demographic economics , sociology , economics , mathematics , social science , mathematical analysis , pure mathematics , market economy
The objective of this study is to review the theoretical limitations of single dimensional approaches for measuring inequality and to prove the effectiveness and practicality of the concept of “multidimensional inequality” by analyzing the inequality embedded in Korean society. This study constitutes nine dimensions of inequality (income, education, health, employment, social capital, leisure, work‐family reconciliation, housing, and social security) and analyzes inequality through the lens of each dimension by using data from of the first to fifth wave of the Korea Welfare Panel Study. The findings show a high degree of correlation among the dimensions of income, education, health, and social capital. However, work‐family reconciliation and housing have a relatively low correlation with income and the other dimensions. Second, multidimensional disparities were found between the groups of gender, age, and region. In conclusion, this study found a high degree of overlap between the concepts of income‐oriented inequalities and the multidimensional inequality approach. By capturing the notions of the multidimensional disparities that exist in each of the different groups, this study confirmed the effectiveness of multidimensional inequality as a useful concept for informing the creation of social policy intervention to alleviate inequality.