The Impact of Globalization and the Growth of Non-standard Work arrangements : A comparison between Japan and Korea

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Both Japan and Korea experienced a dramatic increase in the proportion of non-regular workers in the 1990's. In the early 21^<st> century this trend has continued in Japan while in Korea, the government passed protective legislation in 2007 targeting non-regular workers and trying to mitigate growing job insecurity.This research examines the causes of the growth of non-regular employment in both countries using shift-share analysis and finds that the demand side factor explains most of the growth in non-regular employment in both countries since the 1990s.In response to heightened competition associated with globalization both countries adopted cost-cutting policies to remain competitive, especially in terms of reducing wage outlays. As a result, in both countries companies hired fewer regular workers and increased the proportion of temporary workers. Based upon the bread-winner model, both countries mandated social insurance benefits only for regular workers, creating a significant incentive to hire more temporary workers.