1. Family Policy across the OECD
Seminar presentation:
National Health Insurance Corporation, Seoul, Korea
4 May, 2007
Willem Adema
Head, Asian Social and Health Outreach, OECD (

2. Presentation outline The changing socio-economic context
What are family policy objectives across the OECD area?
What are family policy measures and how does Korea compare?
The important role of workplace practices
Improving birth-rates and employment to sustain future development

3. Korea will age more rapidly than other OECD countries

4. Birth rates in Asian OECD countries have fallen to low levels

5. Nowadays parents have fewer children than they would like to have

6. Family networks are weakening in Korea..
From 1970 to 2000 the proportion of extended families (couples with children and parents) has fallen from 17 to 7%
Over the same period, the proportion of married couples without children has increased from 5 to 15% of all households

7. …with fewer children in families than before

8. The relationship between fertility and work has changed…
Female employment rates, and total fertility rates, 1980

9. Female employment population rates, 2005
…countries with high female employment rates now also have the highest fertility rates
Female employment population rates, 2005

10. The emphasis underlying policies supporting work/family life differs across the OECD
Procuring care for young and old
Fertility concerns
Increasing female employment to sustain economic growth and pension systems
Tackling child poverty and promoting child development
Gender equity

11. Family policy tools Non-earmarked financial support for families
Parental leave arrangements
Child and out-of-school hours care support
Support towards education and housing
Health and LTC supports
Workplace supports

12. Public spending on education is close to OECD average in Korea….

13. …,but this does not hold for public spending on health…

14. …while a long-term care support system has yet to develop

15. Public spending on family support, percentage of GDP, 2003
Spending on family benefits is also low, in contrast to France and Sweden.
Public spending on family support, percentage of GDP, 2003

16. A continuum of care and employment supports for parents in Scandinavia
Extensive health, LTC, housing and education support
Parental leave of about months
Comprehensive child- and OSH-care systems
Parents with young children work reduced hours
This policy model is expensive, so, in many countries support is income-tested or there are gaps in public family support

17. Contributing to relatively high birth rates…

18. …and maternal employment rates

19. Relatively high formal childcare enrolment in Sweden and the US, with Korea on OECD average

20. With participation among older kids, particularly high in France

21. Work/family reconciliation solutions are also found in working times, but not in Korea
Share of workers by distribution of usual working hours, by gender, 2005

22. In Korea workplace practices do not foster work and family reconciliation
Long working hours leave little room for care
Women are often expected to leave work on marriage/childbirth
The labour market is unfriendly to women:
33% of women in temporary employment, compared to 18% on average across the OECD;
Proportion of women with supervisory responsibilities is 8%, against 20-30% in many OECD countries. .

23. And the largest gender pay gap in the OECD

24. And while educational attainment in Korea has improved markedly for both sexes…

25. …but unlike other countries, employment among high-skilled women is relatively low

26. A more gender equitable sharing in caring and working will also reduce labour supply concerns
Total labour force from 1980 to 2000, and projections from 2005 to 2030, in thousands
‘Constant rates’: assumes constant labour force participation rates for men and women from 2000 to 2030; ’Gender equity in participation rates’: assumes that female participation rates reach current male participation rates in each country by 2030.

27. …and help pay for the expected rise in health and LTC-expenditures

28. To increase both employment and birth-rates, Korea needs better family-friendly policies
Investment in formal care support.
Mould different policies into a coherent system
More opportunities for women/mothers to stay/return to regular employment.
Maintain employer/employee relationship during parental leave
Raise awareness among employers on the need for family-friendly workplaces and help find solutions that fit individual workplaces .

29. To increase both employment and birth-rates, Korea needs better family-friendly policies (contd.)
Time-related workplace measures that support flexi-work and part-time work, as part of (short-term) regular employment conditions.
Foster equal career opportunities across the genders, and ensure that work pays for mothers: increase the role of performance-related pay.
Stimulate paternal role in family life.

30. More information http://www.oecd.org/els/social/family
D'Addio, A-C. and M. Mira d'Ercole (2005), “Trends and Determinants of Fertility Rates in OECD Countries: The Role of Policies”, Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 27, OECD, Paris (
OECD (2002), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol. 1, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands.
OECD (2003), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol. 2, Austria, Ireland and Japan.
OECD (2004), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol. 3,
New Zealand, Portugal and Switzerland.
OECD (2005), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life, Vol. 4, Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
OECD (2007), Facing the Future: Korea’s Family, Pension and Health Policy Challenges.
OECD (2007), Babies and Bosses, Reconciling Work and Family Life: A Synthesis of findings for OECD countries, forthcoming.