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With a rapid economic achievement, education and socio-economic status of Korean women has also considerably improved. 40.0% of total women held bachelor’s degrees in 2015, which was only 1.6% in 1970. College entrance rate of women was estimated at 32.4% in 1990 but increased to 73.5% in 2017, even higher than men (66.3%). As more women are educated and employed conflicting with traditional gender role and values, one of strategies to deal with housework or childcare is outsourcing. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (2015), 25% of married couples with children received help from their parents for housework or childcare, and it increased to 53% for dual earning couples. Choi (2016) explains that married couples depend on their parents and babysitters for young children, while they depend on nursery and kindergarten as children get older. Then how much does outsourcing reduce a demand for housework and childcare? Will it change the contribution to domestic work between couple? Despite the prevalence of domestic outsourcing in Korea, none of previous studies have investigated its relationship with couple’s time worked at home. In this paper, we examine how paid or unpaid helper is associated with time spent on housework or childcare by wife and husband respectively, using panel data for nine years with individual fixed effects. We also examine how the outsourcing is associated with husband’s relative contribution to domestic work compared to wife, by types of housework.

Student loans have become a social-financial issue in the United States. This study uses a nationally representative dataset to examine the association between financial socialization and student loan borrowing behavior of individuals after controlling a number of different socio-demographic factors. Results show that the financial burdens of college education, such as borrowing and the dollar amounts of a loan, are higher for Blacks, however, their college attendance is significantly lower than Whites. Blacks are more independent and receive less financial support from family and relatives than Whites. The wealth gap that exists between Black and White parents may contribute to the disparity. Additional financial resources for higher education as well as financial education and counseling may be needed to create better academic access for the vulnerable underserved groups including minority students.

The study will test interventions to promote marital and economic health among low-income couples in Virginia and Maryland