How policy configurations matter: a critical look into pro-natal policy in South Korea based on a gender and family framework
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 17 April 2020
Issue publication date: 24 June 2020
Abstract
Purpose
South Korea has shown ultra-low fertility since the 2000s despite a massive expansion of pro-natal policies. The purpose of this research is to analyse institutional and socio-cultural configurations surrounding Korea's pro-natal policy and provide implications as to why the comprehensive packages have not produced intended outcomes.
Design/methodology/approach
This study assumes institutional complementarities, suggesting that the effectiveness of policy depends on various support factors. Drawing out insights from the framework of de-familisation, the authors construct a gender and family framework to analyse the pro-natal policy configurations in Korea.
Findings
Labour market policies in Korea have explicitly aimed to support dual-earner couples and protect women's employment status after childbirth. However, the dualistic labour market and remaining female-caregiver norms lead to the polarisation of couples into dual earners and male breadwinners. In family policy, the government has rapidly increased affordable childcare services, but widespread distrust in private services and generous birth-related cash benefits formulate a tension between de-familisation and continued familisation. Other welfare programmes that attach welfare rights to marital status also prolong female-caregiver norms in institutional arrangements. The findings suggest that the ambivalence between recent policy developments and the existing arrangements can limit the effectiveness of the policy packages.
Originality/value
The framework based on institutional complementarities addresses the limitations of previous studies concentrating on the statistical testing of individual policy effects. A similar approach can be applied to other countries showing major policy efforts but producing unsatisfactory outcomes.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Authors would like to thank Professor Mary Daly at the University of Oxford, who has provided very helpful comments on this article. They also thank Kiyomi Ran and Alex Beck for proofreading this article and suggesting some corrections. Finally, they thank the editors and anonymous referees of the International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, as well as the participants of the 16th East Asian Social Policy Annual Conference 2019.
Citation
Lee, K. and Zaidi, A. (2020), "How policy configurations matter: a critical look into pro-natal policy in South Korea based on a gender and family framework", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 40 No. 7/8, pp. 589-606. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-12-2019-0260
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited