Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 COVID-19 and female employment in S. Korea

Chapter 3 COVID-19 and employment in culture and arts sectors in S. Korea

Chapter 4 COVID-19 and tourism employment in S. Korea

Chapter 5 Non-technical summaries & Conclusion

This report is composed of fi­ve chapters, among which there are three topic- and context-specifi­c analyses. While the overriding topic concerns COVID-19 (as an adverse labor market shock) and groups with an increased employment vulnerability, each of those three chapters delves into different demographic groups, specialization areas, and industrial sectors.

Following Chapter 1 (Page 3), Chapter 2 (Page 11) addresses the topic of the pandemic and its impact on the female labor market in South Korea-with a special emphasis on its pre- and post-COVID labor force composition. In doing so, empirical analyses are implemented in combination with microeconomic theories and a novel econometric approach (i.e., the novel ‘three-step’ method of Arellano and Bonhomme (2017)). In light of the fi­ndings in Chapter 2, it can be argued that COVID-19 was not a homogeneous, monolithic shock in South Korea’s female labor market. It was a demand-side shock for low-potential females, for whom the labor demand constraint binds; in contrast, it was a supply-side shock for high-potential females, for whom the labor supply constraint binds. This aspect should be taken into careful consideration in devising post-pandemic recovery plans. Furthermore, in terms of employment probabilities, policymakers should pay attention to medial-potential women, whose post-pandemic resilience seems to be left behind others.