Over-heated education and lower labor market participation of Korean females in other OECD countries

SynopsisOur empirical study demonstrates a somewhat intriguing phenomenon that the level of education among Korean females is inversely related to their labor market participation rate. This study shows that the high burden of caring for their children among educated women tends to negatively affect the probability of married women participating in the labor market. Using Time-Use Survey data, the empirical analysis confirms that the very lengthy child-care services provided by Korean educated mothers emerge as an important negative factor for labor market participation. Our findings suggest that a variety of policies for reducing the burden of caring for children in school should be considered in order to boost the labor force participation rate of educated Korean women.