National Research Council for Economics Humanities and Social Science

Basic science education provides the most fundamental knowledge for preparing students to pursue departmental major courses. Considering that basic science courses are laboratory classes conducted alongside theory classes, the factors affecting instructor–student communication and feedback can vary between theory and laboratory classes. We applied the ordinary least squares model to the refined data of basic science courses. We drew on variables reflecting instructor–student interaction such as class size, type of subject, and instructor characteristics to analyze the factors affecting student satisfaction with theory and laboratory classes. The analysis results indicated that the educational environment of a large-sized class could be improved by subdividing it into smaller groups to facilitate feedback. The use of online platforms to supplement offline courses provides an additional mechanism for the exchange of feedback and positively affects student satisfaction. We also confirmed empirically that the instructor–student communication which takes place during laboratory work, in contrast to the one-sided conveyance of course materials by the instructor in lectures, was a crucial factor in the quality of education. These results are linked to the demand for knowledge in engineering education, the student’s educational performance, and the labor market performance needed to establish a sustainable system in engineering education.

This study examines how the introduction of green new products (GNPs) by luxury brands contributes to building brand equity (i.e., brand attitude and trust) through green perceived value (GPV) and empirically assesses its impact on consumers’ purchase intentions. Furthermore, it explores the moderating role of digital customer engagement (DCE) in the relationship between GPV and building brand equity. To verify the hypothesis, we performed the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) as an analytical technique using 572 datasets from luxury consumers in China. The results revealed that GPV through GNPs significantly influences both brand attitude and brand trust. In addition, brand attitude and brand trust were found to have a significantly positive effect on purchase intention. Moreover, DCE was observed to positively moderate the relationship between GPV and brand trust. To enhance the purchase intentions for luxury brands, it is essential to foster brand attitude and brand trust by developing a multidimensional GPV through GNPs. Furthermore, DCE plays a crucial role in strengthening the brand trust component of GPV.

This study focuses on finding the trend of efficiency in the healthcare industry in recent years. We applied stochastic frontier analysis and data envelopment analysis methods to capture the efficiency of 1,471 hospitals and found a sign of the Baumol effect, which is detected by the decreasing trend of hospital efficiency with increasing trend of labor costs. Furthermore, we compared the results of both approaches (stochastic frontier and data envelope analyses) in capturing efficiency scores and suggest the U‐shaped curve of the size effect may indicate the practice of “cream skimming” by some small hospitals.

Environmental education (EE) has received more and more attention worldwide.In Korea, there is a national consensus on the importance of EE; however, it is not as much of a priority as other education subjects or themes, based on annual survey results.This study asks how much value Korean citizens place on EE, revealing its value more objectively than the opinion survey.This study estimates citizens' benefits from EE using the contingent valuation method (CVM) to elicit willingness to pay (WTP).The survey scenario detailed information about the Green Movable EE Classroom program managed by the South Korean Ministry of Environment, and its 1,004 participants comprised a representative sample of Korea.The results are as follows.If the average household's annual WTP (KRW 17,575; USD 14.85) were expanded to the total number of Korean households, the total benefit would be about KRW 367.2 billion (USD 310 million) per year.This result can be interpreted as citizens being willing to pay that amount for EE.This study estimated the economic value and is the first empirical attempt to reveal the value of EE nationwide.This study expands the theoretical discussion of the value of EE and provides evidence for policy revision.

To increase the satisfaction of administrative support for researchers' research immersion, the South Korea (hereafter Korea) has supported research support capacity evaluation (hereafter support capacity evaluation) since 2020. The purpose of this study is to suggest efficiency improvement by empirically analyzing how research support capacity affect researcher satisfaction. To this end, the hypothesis was verified for a total of 196 research support organizations (158 universities and 38 government-funded research institutes). As a result of the analysis, it was found that the capacity to support research activities had a significant effect on the satisfaction of researchers. The analysis results for each sub-variable of independent variables showed that, first, the research support organization operation had a positive (+) effect on the researcher satisfaction. Degree of improvement in researcher treatment and transparency in research fund execution also showed the same results, and R&D rule conformity had a significant effect, but showed a negative (-) relationship. On the other hand, it was found that there was no moderating effect of research support budget size between research support capacity and researcher satisfaction. Based on the above analysis results, improvement for each evaluation index were sought through expert interviews utilizing AHP analysis and semi-structured questionnaires. Finally, the limitations of the study and future research directions were discussed.

Because the food manufacturing sector, as a fundamental and regionally specialized enterprise, has a substantial impact on the rural economy, an empirical analysis of the food manufacturing industry’s expansion is required. However, regarding the evidence and means of ensuring vitality in agricultural and rural areas, academic theories and empirical studies still lack depth among the existing scholarship. As such, this study conducted a spatial pattern analysis to determine whether small food manufacturers in Korea were more concentrated than other manufacturing industries by using cluster analysis methods. The data used for the analysis are business basic survey statistics (2010), taken from a comprehensive survey that discloses the number of businesses, number of employees, organizational type, employee size, and occupational status of all businesses nationwide every year, even at the 5-digit level of municipalities. Data from 2000 and 2010 were used to analyze the employment growth of the food manufacturing industry. In 2010, 230 cities (Si), counties (Gun), and boroughs (Gu) were targeted to analyze employment patterns in the food manufacturing industry. The analysis results indicated that there were differences in potential cluster regions according to regional characteristics. Through the results of the study of spatial patterns, several implications were found for Korea’s food manufacturing industry promotion policy. In addition, this study provides basic information for analyzing the external effects of the food manufacturing industry through agglomeration by industry and region and the impact on productivity through related industries.

This study analysed the comprehensive competitiveness for multinational automobile companies (GM, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Hyundai). Based on Porter's (1990) diamond model, we selected the leading papers in the field of management and strategy, then extracted the key factors of comprehensive competitiveness for the automobile companies. According to the results, among factor conditions – the CEO characteristics, human resource management (HRM) system, and technological innovation capability – technological innovation capability positively influenced the comprehensive competitiveness for all four companies. Hyundai (Korea) showed that CEO characteristics also positively affected comprehensive competitiveness. With a moderating effect of government support, HRM system had a significant interaction for both GM (USA) and Toyota (Japan). Technological innovation capability also significantly interacted with government support for Toyota (Japan). In the case of open innovation, technological innovation capability significantly interacted with it for GM (USA), Volkswagen (Germany) and Toyota (Japan). Finally, the CEO characteristics and HRM system significantly interacted with open innovation for GM (USA).

The rise in unemployment is an important and urgent task to be tackled for the growth of economy in Korea. Although prior studies have revealed some factors leading to the creation of employment, studies simultaneously considering various factors, such as small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs’) basic factors, technology innovation activities, innovation capabilities, and the government policies, have been limited. This study seeks to design an integrated model that focuses on both SME and government policy factors associated with the creation of new employment. For this, we use the Korea Innovation Survey (KIS) data on 2828 firms in the manufacturing industry in Korea for 2013–2015. Using the multivariate regression model, we identified the association of SME and the government policy factors on the creation of employment. We show that sales, product innovation, organization innovation, and the support program by the government contributed to the job creation, whereas a firm’s age had a negative correlation with the creation of employment. The statistical results and discussion of our findings facilitate a better understanding of the association between various SMEs’ factors and the creation of employment, and therefore, should help in designing better policies and strategies for employment growth.

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The role and location of food manufacturers are crucial to regional economic sustainability and solving problems related to local employment. This study aims to create a foundation for future regional economic and alternative governmental policies by analyzing the factors that influence food manufacturing productivity in South Korea and reassessing their efficiency in the agricultural industry. This study uses a functional formula to select variables based on food manufacturer data and regional accomplishments. It then applies quantile regression analysis to measure the effects of labor productivity on food manufacturers at a regional level and prevent sample bias. The analysis results show that the impact of corporate elements is greater when the company is larger and permanent positions are more prevalent. Regarding regional characteristics, the horizontal link between industries, spatial agglomeration, and national government financing is influential, along with the local government financing policy. While little research has been conducted on the growth of Korean food manufacturers based on the unit of region, the significance of this study is that it focuses on various connections and agglomeration effects at the regional level and addresses the influence of regional characteristics. Based on the unit of region, this study identifies the factors that affect the labor productivity of food manufacturers while analyzing their effects. The scientific novelty of this paper lies in its analysis of the factors that influence food manufacturing productivity in South Korea and reassessment of their efficiency in the agricultural industry. This approach provides new insights into the growth of Korean food manufacturers based on the unit of region, given that the food manufacturing industry is closely related to the sustainability of the regional economy, the settlement of social issues, the protection of agriculture and farming areas, the fostering of small and medium-sized firms, and balanced regional development. Keywords: food manufacturers, value-added productivity of labor, spatial agglomeration, horizontal link between industries, quantile regression. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.61.11

OBJECTIVES: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most prevalent liver disease. Evidence indicates a relationship between sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and MASLD development; however, the effects of specific SSB types on MASLD remain underexplored. This study investigated the association between consumption of 3 distinct types of SSBs and MASLD in Korean adults. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2012-2016, including 8,310 participants aged 40-64 years. SSB consumption (soft drinks, fruit drinks, and Korean traditional drinks) was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. MASLD was defined as a hepatic steatosis index ≥36 in the presence of any cardiometabolic risk factor. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for relevant covariates. RESULTS: Compared to non-drinkers, consumption of soft drinks (≥3 serving/wk) was associated with higher odds of MASLD (OR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.81; p for trend=0.03), while consumption of Korean traditional drinks (≥3 serving/wk) was associated with lower odds of MASLD (OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.89; p for trend=0.01). No association was found between fruit drink consumption and MASLD. In sex-stratified analysis (p-interaction=0.38), an inverse association between Korean traditional drinks and MASLD was observed in male (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.34 to 0.95; p for trend=0.03), but not in female (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.45 to 1.14; p for trend=0.17). CONCLUSIONS: Consuming soft drinks at least 3 times per week was positively associated with MASLD, whereas an equivalent intake of Korean traditional drinks was inversely associated with MASLD.

Background: This cross-sectional study aimed to analyze temporal trends in handgrip strength (HGS) from 2014 to 2019 and explore potential contributors to such trends among Korean adults. Methods: This study analyzed data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2014-2019, among Korean adults aged ≥ 20 years (n = 20,038). Employing multiple linear regression models, we examined the influence of nutritional quality (mean nutrient adequacy ratio [MAR]), physical activity levels (metabolic equivalent of task [MET]), depressive symptoms, and sociodemographic factors on HGS. Higher MAR and MET values indicate better nutritional quality and greater physical activity, respectively. Temporal trends in HGS were also examined over the study period. Results: for linear trend < 0.001). Conclusions: This study identified a significant decline in HGS among Korean adults between 2014 and 2019, in parallel with reductions in physical activity and nutritional quality. Efforts to reverse these trends are required for preserving functional health at the population level. Continuous monitoring of HGS trends might support the assessment of national health status.

This study analysed the comprehensive competitiveness for multinational automobile companies (GM, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Hyundai). Based on Porter's (1990) diamond model, we selected the leading papers in the field of management and strategy, then extracted the key factors of comprehensive competitiveness for the automobile companies. According to the results, among factor conditions – the CEO characteristics, human resource management (HRM) system, and technological innovation capability – technological innovation capability positively influenced the comprehensive competitiveness for all four companies. Hyundai (Korea) showed that CEO characteristics also positively affected comprehensive competitiveness. With a moderating effect of government support, HRM system had a significant interaction for both GM (USA) and Toyota (Japan). Technological innovation capability also significantly interacted with government support for Toyota (Japan). In the case of open innovation, technological innovation capability significantly interacted with it for GM (USA), Volkswagen (Germany) and Toyota (Japan). Finally, the CEO characteristics and HRM system significantly interacted with open innovation for GM (USA).