Researchers at the Korea Human Settlements Research Institute analyzed the country’s birth rate patterns, using data from Statistics Korea, and concluded that the decline was particularly steep during the period. Housing costs increased dramatically. They note that birth rates tend not to change much when housing prices stabilize.
Korea: Why do young couples refuse to… give birth?
Using their own data model, the researchers found a correlation between the total fertility rate (the number of children a woman is expected to have until the end of her childbearing years) and age-specific prevalence rates) of a given year and factors believed to influence family planning.
They include various figures from the previous year, including: housing prices, rents, private tuition fees, economic growth and unemployment rates.
A report recently released by the research institute shows that the biggest factor influencing Korean families in deciding whether or not to have children is housing costs. Illustration photo: PNGtree.
Housing costs, including the cost of buying or renting a home, are the biggest factor affecting couples having their first, second or third child, although their impact varies somewhat.
More specifically, the researchers found that a 1% increase in housing prices in any given year would cause the total fertility rate to decrease by 0.00203, and that a 1% increase in rent prices would cause the total fertility rate to decrease by 0.00247. .
The report said that 30.4% of couples’ decisions to have their first child may be due to housing costs, followed by their concern about the previous year’s birth rate, at 27.9%.
For the second child, housing costs influenced 28.7% of families’ decisions, followed by the previous year’s birth rate at 28.4%. The numbers giving birth to a third child are 27.5% and 26.1%, respectively.
However, the impact of private education on family decisions increases significantly after the birth of the first child to the second child as well as to the third child. It influences couples’ decision to have their first child by just 5.5%, but then doubles to 9.1% for their second child and rises even higher to 14.3%. for the third child.
The influence of women’s economic participation rate – referring to the number of women working or willing to work – on families’ decisions to have children is always high, from influencing 16.5% decided to have their first child to 15.9% and 15.5% decided to have their second and third children. These numbers show that women’s stable employment is an important factor influencing couples’ decisions to have children.
According to Statistics Korea last June, dual-income households accounted for 46.1% of the 12.69 million married households in October 2022, marking an all-time high. since this agency started counting.
The key to solving South Korea’s record low birth rate is addressing housing costs, researchers say. “(The government) must adopt policies so that newlyweds with financial difficulties can buy a house without having to borrow too much money,” they wrote.
