출간도서 > 출간도서 > Challenges and Policy Responses to Population Aging

Sub-one Fertility-A Dark Cloud with Silver Linings
Korea is now experiencing sub-one fertility, with a total fertility rate of only 0.98 birth per woman. Low fertility leads to population decline and population aging, and if sub-one fertility persists population decline will be very rapid and population aging quite severe. This is a matter of great concern, and many experts in Korea are working to understand why fertility is so low and what policies should be pursued that would support women who currently bear responsibility for reproduction and to a considerable degree child rearing. Although the demographic situation in Korea is an important long-run problem, the purpose of this brief introduction is to point out ways in which population decline and aging are positive developments and to discuss some of the ways that responses to the demographic situation in Korea can be improved. Our purpose is to highlight the broad range of issues that are relevant, while acknowledging that evidence on some topics is incomplete and some issues are controversial. Nonetheless, it is critical that discussions of low fertility, population decline, and population aging consider the broad range of relevant issues. With this goal in mind, we offer four favorable effects and four ways that the response to aging can be improved.

Editor

Heung-Seek Cho is the President of the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs(KIHASA), Sejong, Korea.

Researchers

Andrew Mason is professor of the East-West Center, Honolulu, HI, USA.

Sang-Hyop Lee is professor at the Department of Economics of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.A.

Choel-Kon Park is professor at the Department of Economics of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, U.S.A.

Naohiro Ogawa is professor of the University of Tokyo and the University of Malaya.

Joze Sambt is professor of the School of Economics of the University of Ljubljana.

Tanja Isteničis professor of the School of Economics of the University of Ljubljana.

Gretchen Donehower is professor of the UC Berkeley, and a member of the Counting Women’s Work research project and National Transfer Accounts research network.

G. Abio is professor at the Departament d’Economia of the University of Barcelona.

G. Michailidis is professor at the Departament d’Economia of the University of Barcelona.

C. Patxot is professor at the Departament d’Economia Aplicada of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

G. Souto is professor at the Departament d’Economia Aplicada of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.