Effect of Work-Family Compatibility Policies on Women’s Fertility Intention: A Case of South Korea

Seung-won Choi, Michigan State University

Over the past few decades, South Korea has received considerable attention for its lowest fertility rate. This remarkable fertility decline in Korea is especially notable in that there was a considerable lag in adopting effective policy in order to inhibit the fertility decline in Korea. That is, while there is strong evidence that the steep decline of fertility level below the replacement level within two and half decades is largely due to government policies and family planning programs to reduce family size (Cho, 2000); these types of policies were not repelled until the mid-1990s. As direct cash payment and indirect transfer policies to promote higher fertility has been largely ineffective, how improving work-family compatibility would affect women's fertility intention has important implications. Using the Korea Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (KLoWF), we investigate the effect of work-family compatibility on women's fertility intention.