Unintended Pathways: The Impact of High-Speed Rail on Gender Differences in the Local Labor Market - Evidence from South Korea

47 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2022

See all articles by Eunjee Kwon

Eunjee Kwon

University of Cincinnati

Narae Lee

World Bank - Development Impact

Date Written: April 11, 2022

Abstract

This paper examines the role of High-Speed Rail (HSR) in reducing the gender gap in labor market outcomes in South Korea. The country's notable gender disparity, coupled with the extensive HSR network starting from 2004 that connects Seoul metropolitan areas with non-Seoul regions, presents a distinctive setting for this study. Using a staggered difference-in-differences method, we evaluate HSR's impact on district-level outcomes from 2000 to 2015. The empirical analysis demonstrates that the gender employment gap in labor markets of non-Seoul (i.e., less developed) regions connected by HSR has diminished following the rail expansion. We provide empirical evidence that this decline is mainly due to the increased labor demand in local service sectors around the stations, which rely more on the movement of people and predominantly employ women. Additionally, we provide evidence that improved local amenities, particularly childcare services, may have facilitated women's labor force participation in non-Seoul areas. Our results highlight how infrastructure projects like HSR can inadvertently benefit certain demographics by reshaping the local labor market and urban structures.

Keywords: High Speed Rail, Gender Gap, Transportation, Local Labor Market

JEL Classification: R4; J16

Suggested Citation

Kwon, Eunjee and Lee, Narae, Unintended Pathways: The Impact of High-Speed Rail on Gender Differences in the Local Labor Market - Evidence from South Korea (April 11, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4081288 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4081288

Eunjee Kwon (Contact Author)

University of Cincinnati ( email )

College of Business Administration
Cincinnati, OH 45221
United States

HOME PAGE: http://eunjeekwon.com

Narae Lee

World Bank - Development Impact ( email )

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
554
Abstract Views
1,608
Rank
98,731
PlumX Metrics