| Title |
The Impacts of Housing Prices on Birth Rate |
| Keywords |
Marriage Rate ; Birth Rate ; Housing Price ; Jeonsei ; Monthly Rent |
| Abstract |
In Korea, it is not a surprising fact that the cost of marriage more than doubled in 2007 compared to 2001. There are so many people who can't get married due to financial reasons because they can not afford to buy their own homes when they get married. President Lee Myung-bak pledged a fundamental change to welfare policies during the election campaign. The government has proposed providing newly wed couples with 50,000 new, affordable homes every year to tackle the nation`s low fertility rate and low marriage rate. This paper assesses the determinants of low marriage and birth rate using panel data of the National Statistical Office. The two stage least squares dummy variable structural regression is applied to test independent variables to affect low marriage and birth rate in Korea. We found that soaring housing costs encourage the marriages of the Korean young and do not have any effects on birth rates. It means that soaring housing costs will increase marriage bonuses rather than reducing marriage penalties by sharing living expenses such as housing with his or her spouse. The government housing policies for increasing birth rates are not likely to be successful. |