영유아 가구 양육비 및 육아서비스 이용 실태 조사 (KICCE 소비실태조사 Ⅱ)

Abstract

‘KICCE Spending Survey’ is a statistical survey conducted with the primary aim of collecting information regarding the economic situation and spending practices among households with young children, as well as gauging their current usage of childcare services. Phase I of the study, which was conducted over the 5 years from 2018 to 2022, has been concluded. Phase II - 'KICCE Spending Survey II' is set to be conducted over 5 consecutive years from 2023 to 2027. Research efforts for 2023 will be focused mainly on conducting the 1st wave of the KICCE Spending Survey II (KICCE Spending Survey_2023). The KICCE Spending Survey_2023 study consists largely of the main survey and additional surveys administered to booster samples, the latter comprising childless households and households with pregnant women. In doing so, for the purpose of improving data quality, usability, and to draw policy implications therefrom, we conducted an in-depth analysis of the Phase I 'KICCE Spending Survey (2018~2022)' and the characteristics of its data. As the results in entirety is very expansive, for reader convenience we summarized our findings into the following broad sections: 1) Overview of the KICCE Spending Survey_2023 and 2) Key Statistics and Comparison of Data Characteristics of the KICCE Spending Survey (2018∼2022), followed by two in-depth analyses 3) Child Allowance’s Role in Alleviating Childrearing Cost Burden and 4) How Access to Childcare Services Impacted the Labor Supply of Mothers during the COVID19 Pandemic.

1. Overview of the KICCE Spending Survey_2023 -The key difference between the ‘KICCE Spending Survey_2023’ and the Phase I study is the addition of booster samples. ∙While the main survey is conducted with steady commitment to continuity regarding the Phase I study, booster samples have been introduced for conducting additional surveys for control groups of the main survey (households with young children), as well as to supplement sample subjects that were lacking in the main survey. ∙As control groups regarding households with young children, the booster samples introduced in 2023 include childless households (817 households) and households with pregnant women (504 households). -The total sample of the 2023 main survey included 1,773 households. Out of the 1,518 households designated for tracking, 1,258 (82.8%) were successfully contacted. ∙A total of 2,422 infants responded to the Children‘s Survey in 2023.

2.Key Statistics and Comparison of Data Characteristics of the KICCE Spending Survey (2018∼2022) -Average monthly childcare costs (real terms) per household in 2022 stood at 1,273,000 KRW, in continuation of yearly fluctuations. ∙During the years 2018∼2022, childcare costs (real terms) per child stayed within the 650,000~660,000 KRW range with the exception of year 2020. -As of 2022, 49.2% of young children made use of childcare centers, followed by 27.1% in kindergartens and 1.1% in facilities offering half-day or longer programs. 22.6% of the children were found to have made no use of facilities offering half-day or longer programs. -Employing data on monthly government assistance, we performed longitudinal analysis over a long period. By doing so, we examine the strengths and weaknesses of the monthly assistance data and identify ways to further improve data quality. ∙By the time they reach age 2, more than 90% of young children make use of some facility. ∙Regardless of the child’s age, transitions from home care allowance to childcare assistance and transitions from childcare assistance to the Nuri curriculum assistance occurred around February~May each year, in time with the commencement of recruitment among facilities. ∙The year 2020, when children born in 2019 were aged 1 and those born in 2020 were aged 0, falls within the period of the COVID19 pandemic. take-up rates for home care allowance was somewhat heightened during this period. -While the number of young children has followed a steady downward trend over time, the sample size of young children studied by the KICCE Spending Survey has actually grown, from 2,277 in 2018 to 2,401 in 2021, before falling somewhat to 2,395 in 2022. ∙Compared to the Population Trend Survey, the KICCE Spending Survey has a higher incidence of households with multiple children. ∙As of 2021, average household monthly income as collected by the KICCE Spending Survey stood at 4,942,000 KRW, which is 675,000 KRW lower than comparable figures in the Korean Labor & Income Panel Study and 729,000 KRW lower than that found in the Household Income and Expenditure Survey. ∙Average monthly living expenditures as collected by the KICCE Spending Survey were higher than those in the Korean Labor & Income Panel Study. ∙As of the 2021 survey results, average monthly childcare costs per young child as collected by the KICCE Spending Survey were slightly higher than in the National Family and Fertility Survey, while per-household childcare costs were 310,000 KRW higher than in the National Childcare Survey. ∙In 2018 and 2019, take-up rates for childcare centers and kindergartens as collected by the KICCE Spending Survey were higher than found in administrative data. In 2021 and 2022, while take-up rates for childcare centers were largely similar between the two data sources, take-up rates for kindergartens remained higher in the KICCE Spending Survey.

3.Child Allowance’s Role in Alleviating Childrearing Cost Burden -Despite the steady growth of in-cash type support programs directed at households with young children, little research has been done regarding the efficacy of such programs. Thus, we conducted an in-depth analysis to ascertain the actual role of child allowances in the childrearing process, as well as to see whether allowances actually helped alleviate the cost burden associated with childrearing. ∙Using 4 waves of data from the 2nd (2019) to 5th (2022) wave of the KICCE Spending Survey, the main dependent variables of interest were per-child and per-household childcare costs. ∙Model employed: panel random effects model -Impact of child allowance on per-child childcare costs ∙For waves 4~5 (2021~2022), a unit increase in the number of child allowance recipients led to a 70,000 KRW increase in childcare costs per child. ∙Analysis conducted after grouping children into the following age groups: infants, young children, grades 1 and 2 in elementary school, grades 3 or higher in elementary school, child allowance had a very significant effect on per-child childcare costs. ∙While child allowance had a positive effect on per-child childcare costs in both dual and single earner households, the effect was more pronounced among the latter group. -Impact of child allowance on per-household childcare costs ∙Per-household findings were largely similar to those of the per-child analysis. ∙That said, unlike per-child childcare costs, per-household childcare costs were found to grow much faster depending on the total number of children. This readily indicates that households with multiple children face more serious burdens from childcare costs.

4.How Access to Childcare Services Impacted the Labor Supply of Mothers during the COVID19 Pandemic -We conducted empirical analysis to see how disparate levels of access to the services provided by local childcare centers impacted the labor supply of mothers during the year 2020, amid the COVID19 pandemic. ∙Data employed: KICCE Spending Survey data covering years 2019 and 2020. ∙Model employed: DID (difference-in-differences) estimation -In year 2020, amid the spread of the COVID19 pandemic, the labor market outcomes among women raising children saw a significant decline. -OLS estimates suggest that the pandemic’s spread led to decreases in economic activity, job retention, and hours worked, with the effect being statistically significant only for job retention. ∙The 2-period panel data model has less variability compared to cross-sectional data. Thus, while the directionality of the pandemic’s effect were largely similar, no statistically significant associations were found. -A fixed effects model that controlled for the share of private childcare centers yielded qualitatively similar results to OLS estimates. ∙That said, the effects were markedly more pronounced compared to the OLS estimates. ∙While the pandemic’s spread had no statistically significant impact on economic activity and hours work, it did have a significantly negative impact on the likelihood of job retention. ∙The share of private childcare centers was found to noticeably alleviate the negative impacts of the pandemic’s spread.

Based on the findings presented above, we derived the following policy-related improvements. -Proposals for improving the data quality of the ‘KICCE Spending Survey’ ∙Introducing new weighs for young children / improving weighting methods ∙Restructuring the data for public access ∙Improvements in survey methodology, utilizing various modes (data collection methods) ∙Follow-up measures for sample allotment: adjusting samples of dual-earner households and low-income households -Policy recommendations based on findings from in-depth analyses ∙Raising the child allowance eligibility age ceiling in the case of households ∙Strengthening in-cash support programs for low-income households with young children ∙Allowing the use of additional paternal leave during national crisis situations ∙Improving the actual effectiveness of childcare time-related support policies, such as flexible work arrangements