SEOUL, KOREA - A study said more female participation in the labor market would raise the birthrate. Hyundai Economic Research Institute said this on May 19 in a report "Positive Effects of Female Labor Market Participation," adding, "Although many studies attribute low fertility rates in industrialized economies to higher labor market participation by women in these societies, statistical evidence shows that those OECD member countries with higher women labor market participation ratio have a higher total fertility rate."
According to this counterintuitive study, a 10-percent rise in the female labor market participation ratio in Korea has increased the total fertility rate by 0.12 to 0.19.
Kim Min-jeong, senior fellow with Hyundai Economic Research Institute, said, "This is because women's joblessness can reduce the household's income, which in turn affects the the household's decision to postpone or avoid pregnancy. Policy measures to encourage women to work outside can thus raise childbirth, which would relieve the problem of fewer working population a generation later."
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