Wednesday, June 12, 2013

What Made South Korea the Saddest Country in the OECD? (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of my efforts to explain why South Korea's suicide death rates are the highest in the OECD.
As signs of South Korea's gloomy social environment, I am presenting six figures that are copied from two OECD reports published in 2013.
(For the full names of countries, please see the note at the end of this article.)

The first figure shows how much of income inequality is reduced by taxes and cash transfers. Korea is the worst country in reducing income inequality by those measures.

Source: Denk et al. (2013)

The second figure shows the share of cash transfers in each country's Gross Domestic Product. Korea has the second smallest share of cash transfers (next to Mexico) among OECD countries.

Source: Denk et al. (2013)

The third figure shows the share of social spending in each country's Gross Domestic Product. Korea has the smallest share of social spending among OECD countries.

Source: Égert (2013)

The fourth figure shows the ratio of each country's public spending or benefit for the people who are disabled or with limited capacity, relative to the country's Gross Domestic Product. Korea has the smallest shares of those expenditures among OECD countries.

Source: Égert (2013)

The fifth figure shows the share of public spending for family benefits in each country's Gross Domestic Product. Korea has the smallest shares of those measures among OECD countries. That's a reason why Korea's fertility rate is the lowest in the group.

Source: Égert (2013)

The sixth figure shows the poverty rates of old people (65 years old or older). Korea shows the highest old-age poverty rate among OECD countries.

Source: Égert (2013)

Then, what could be done to remedy these symptoms? 

Sources:
Denk, O., Hagemann, R., Lenain, P., & Somma, V. (2013). Inequality and Poverty in the United States: Public Policies for Inclusive Growth. OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 1052. Paris, France: OECD Publishing. [Full-text at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k46957cwv8q-en]
Égert, B. (2013). The Efficiency and Equity of the Tax and Transfer System in France. OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 1038. Paris, France: OECD Publishing. [Full-text at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/5k487n4jqqg5-en]

Note:

ISO Country Codes for OECD Members
AUS Australia
AUT Austria
BEL Belgium
CAN Canada
CHE Switzerland
CHL Chile
CZE Czech Republic
DEU Germany
DNK Denmark
ESP Spain
EST Estonia
FIN Finland
FRA France
GBR United Kingdom
GRC Greece
HUN Hungary
IRL Ireland
ISL Iceland
ISR Israel
ITA Italy
JPN Japan
KOR Korea
LUX Luxembourg
MEX Mexico
NLD Netherlands
NOR Norway
NZL New Zealand
POL Poland
PRT Portugal
SVK Slovak Republic
SVN Slovenia
SWE Sweden
TUR Turkey
USA United States

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