KICCE 육아물가지수 연구

Abstract

The Korean government has made an effort to overcome low fertility issues by easing the childrearing burden of households with infants and children through preparing the universal supporting system regarding the infants and children service costs in 2012 and diversifying the design of childrearing support. However, the childrearing burden of households with infants and children is still a problem awaiting solution to be solved and an issue critically affecting the low fertility issues, childrearing and education policies, demanding continuous and in-depth research achievement. This study aimed to analyze policy effects by continuous monitoring market price whether the expanded governmental support policies regarding infants and children childrearing and education have been applied to the childrearing items practically consumed in the households and seek for solution in terms of managing market price. For the purpose, this study calculated the KICCE Childrearing Price Index(CPI) by analyzing data provided by the Bank of Korea and the Statistics Korea and conducting childreaing market research. Also, data from the parents with infants and children survey was analyzed for specifying 2018 weight and reorganizing items. The weight changes of the items in KICCE Childrearing Price Index(CPI) showed that the proportion of spending on milk powder, diapers, strollers, pure educational costs in kindergarten-related costs, and child care centers costs had decreased, while the proportion of spending on clothing-footwear-related service, milk, weaning foods, toys, extra kindergarten-related costs, private English language institutes for children, extra child-care-center-related costs, and postnatal care centers had increased in household expenditures compared to the 2012. These changes are likely to be interpreted in two respects of the changes in expenditures in household with infants and children and the purchase rate. Although interpretation of the changes in comprehensive items of KICCE CPI(Ⅱ, Ⅲ-1, Ⅲ-2) had limitations due to the weight based on the year of 2018 and reorganization of some items, changes in items indicated a similar pattern with the Consumer Price Index(CPI). In addition, according to the results of the subjective consumer price index computation, parents for infants and children showed a consistent tendency of low negative responses concerning the subjectively-perceived market price and the burden on household budgets in terms of comsumer goods, durable goods, and service goods. It increases the necessity to monitor the later changes of the subjectively-perceived childrearing price index reported by the newly-recruited panel in 2018 in-depth with the tendency of related research. Based on the results, this study suggested supplementation of the policy design supporting kindergartens and child care centers and the central-governmental support for the system of maximum child care center costs causing the regional gap, and the introduction of the management system of babysitters in the private-sector.