KICCE 육아물가지수 연구(Ⅳ)

Abstract

This is the study of the 9th year of Chidrearing Price Index (CPI) produced by the Korea Institute of Child Care & Education (KICCE) and the 4th year of 2nd research theme of the Study on the Consumption Status of Household with Young Children and Childrearing Cost. The CPI is produced on the regular basis in order to continuously monitor the trend of market prices of baby products and services. The purpose of this study is to monitor if government support policies have been reflected in chidrearing product items consumed actually by household with infants or children and analyze the effects of the policies to utilize as the basic data for future policy. The KICCE CPI (I) in 2021 was found to have dropped by 0.9% during 2.6% increase of Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Statistics Korea (KOSTAT). The KICCE Childrearing Price Indexes (Ⅱ, Ⅲ-1, Ⅲ-2) investigated in this study by 2020 was not produced this year. Instead, the indexes from 2013 to 2020 were based upon to analyze annual average up/down and contribution. As a result, the annual average fluctuation rate was around 2%, at around the inflation targeting number announced by the Bank of Korea in 2019. In terms of product items, child insurance and home-study material for young children ranked higher in all of the three index production methods. Additional kindergarten cost and additional childcare center cost ranked lower on the list, indicating the effect of price regulation policy after expanded policy supports for free childcare and national Nuri Curriculum. Perceived childrearing cost was surveyed for the parents of young children nationwide in 2021. As a result, generally similar price fluctuation patterns were found in all of the consumer goods, durable goods, and service goods; and the durable goods were found to have considerably higher price perception level and household burden, compared with the consumer goods and service goods. This result showed that households with younger children felt heavier price burden in durable products such as strollers, car seats, and bicycles, among the childrearing items. Before closing the study on KICCE Childrearing Price Index production, the authors, based upon the accumulated study findings and policy proposals, suggest to produce the Childrearing Price Index perceived by the households with young children as a sub-index of the Consumer Price Index of KOSTAT and to add indexes of households with young children to the Consumer Survey Index and Composite Sentiment Index. Moreover, as the KICCE Childrearing Price Index is market price fluctuation perceived by households with infants and children, we propose how to connect this to the government policy support prices and how to close the price gap between local kindergartens and childcare centers.