Another Hurdle for Married Women: Private Tutoring of Children and Women's Labor in Korea

Abstract

Using data from Seoul and six major cities in Korea, this study examines the relationship between the cost of children's private tutoring and the employment of their mothers. The results indicate that private tutoring for children is a barrier for participation in the labor force by women with school-aged children, as social norms require them to bear the burden of supporting children's educational activities in the household alone. Specifically, empirical results suggest that every one standard deviation increase in the tutoring cost is associated with a 6.5 percent decrease in employment probability of married women with school-aged children. It is noteworthy that the negative effect of the cost of private tutoring appears to be greater for women with higher education or with relatively higher non-labor income than for their counterparts. Different responses from groups with different levels of education and income may be due to differences in “productivity’ for generating “quality’ children and market opportunities.