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Age culture, school-entry cutoff, and the choices of birth month and school-entry timing in South Korea

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  • Taehoon KIM

    (Kyung Hee University)

Abstract

This study explores how the distinctive Korean age reckoning, the Confucian age culture, and the school-entry-cutoff date affect the decisions of parents on both birth and school-entry timing for their children in Korea. There is a traditional method of age calculation in Korea that all people get one year older on January 1. Korea also has a distinctive age culture influenced by Confucianism. I find a substantial amount of birth and school-entry timing selections around the Korean age-cutoff date, January 1. The estimation results show that children born in January and February delayed school entry by 18.2–21.2 percentage points more than those born in November and December and 24% of births moved from one week before January 1 to one week after when the school-entry cutoff was March 1. After the school-entry cutoff has changed to January 1, children barely delay school enrollment, while more births are moved from December to January: 42% of births are shifted within the 7-day window. These behaviors are made by two motives: (1) parents want their children to have the same Korean age with their classmates because of the Confucian age culture; (2) they also want their children to be relatively older to have academic advantages.

Suggested Citation

  • Taehoon KIM, 2021. "Age culture, school-entry cutoff, and the choices of birth month and school-entry timing in South Korea," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(1), pages 33-65, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:87:y:2021:i:1:p:33-65
    DOI: 10.1017/dem.2020.16
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yeonho Bae & Taehoon Kim, 2023. "The labor market impacts of graduating from university during a recession: evidence and mechanisms," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 931-958, February.
    2. Hwang, Jisoo & Hwang, Seung-sik & Kim, Hyuncheol Bryant & Lee, Jungmin & Lee, Junseok, 2023. "Risk Compensation after COVID-19 Vaccination," IZA Discussion Papers 16053, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Yoosik Shin, 2023. "School starting age policy and students' risky health behaviors," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(11), pages 2446-2459, November.
    4. Kim, Taehoon, 2021. "Estimating pecuniary and non-Pecuniary returns to college education for academically marginal students: Evidence from the college enrollment quota policy in south korea," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Jisoo Hwang & Seung‐sik Hwang & Hyuncheol Bryant Kim & Jungmin Lee & Junseok Lee, 2024. "Risk compensation after COVID‐19 vaccination: Evidence from vaccine rollout by exact birth date in South Korea," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(8), pages 1811-1830, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Academic redshirting; Birth timing selection; Confucian age culture; Educational achievement; Korean age reckoning; School-entry cutoff;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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