Seung Jun Kwak

The role of the four electric power sectors in the Korean national economy: an input–output analysis

Abstract The electric power industry has played an important role in the dramatic economic development in Korea, and electricity has become a critical factor sustaining the well-being of the Korean people. This study uses input–output analysis to investigate the role of the four electric power sectors (hydroelectric, fossil-fuels, nuclear and non-utility) in the Korean national economy for the period 1985–1998, focusing on three topics: the impact of electricity supply investment on individual sectors and the inter-industry linkage effect; the electricity supply shortage effect; and the impact of the rise in electricity rates on prices of other products. The overall results reveal that the non-utility electric sector is superior in terms of national economy-wide effects to the other three sectors throughout the period. Finally, potential uses of the results are illustrated from the perspective of policy instruments and some policy implications are discussed.

Contingent valuation in Korean environmental planning: A pilot application to the protection of drinking water quality in Seoul

This paper describes the application of the contingent valuation (CV) or willingness to pay (WTP) survey technique to a problem of public policy evaluation in Seoul, Korea. Matters of principal interest include: the definition of the problem and policy — protection of Seouls drinking water supply from disruption by “slugs” of contaminants in the source river (the Han); adjustments to standard CV techniques and assumptions required by the cultural and physical reality of Seoul; the representativeness of the spatially-drawn sample; estimation of the willingness to pay equation as a check on theoretical validity; and the policy implications of the results. The bottom line is asserted to be that CV may be especially valuable in countries such as Korea that have serious environmental problems and a history of not producing data that might be used in alternative (indirect) benefit estimation exercises. Further, it appears that if care is exercised in adjusting to local reality, the method can be made as successful as it has been in the U.S. and northern Europe.

Willingness to pay for improving the residential waste disposal system in Korea: a choice experiment study.

This study attempts to apply choice experiments with regard to the residential waste disposal system (RWDS) in Korea by considering various attributes that are related to RWDS. Using data from a survey conducted on 492 households, the empirical analysis yields estimates of the willingness to pay for a clean food-waste collection facility, the collection of small items (such as obsolete mobile phones and add-ons for personal computers), and a more convenient large waste disposal system. The estimation results of multinomial logit models are quite similar to those of nested logit models. The results reveal that residents have preferences for the cleanliness of facilities and the collection of small items. In Korea, residents are required to purchase and attach stickers for the disposal of large items; they want to be able to obtain stickers at not only village offices but also supermarkets. On the other hand, the frequency of waste collection is not a significant factor in the choice of the improved waste management program.

Valuation of the Woopo Wetland in Korea: A contingent valuation study

A contingent valuation (CV) method was performed to estimate the conservation value of the Woopo Wetland, Ramsar site, in Korea. The CV survey was rigorously designed to comply with the guidelines for best-practiced CV studies. Respondents overall accepted the hypothetical market and were willing to pay a significant amount (2,731 to 3,960 Korean won = USD 2.10 to 3.05), on average, per household annually to conserve the wetland. These findings have important implications for efforts to consider environmental quality in policy decisions.

Average Derivative Estimation of Hedonic Price Models

Conventional parametric techniques for estimatinghedonic price models require a correct functionalform. In this paper, we side-step this parametricshortcoming by estimating a hedonic price model usingaverage derivative estimation (ADE). Thissemiparametric approach produces robust estimates ofthe marginal effects without assuming a specificfunctional form a priori. In our application ofthe model to a unique data set on Korean home prices,ADE produced estimates consistent with priorexpectations, providing initial evidence that themodel may represent a viable alternative when usingthe hedonic approach.

Valuing drinking water quality improvement using a Bayesian analysis of the multinomial probit model

This article estimates a multinomial probit model structured according to the defensive expenditures for drinking water (DW) choice, using a Bayesian analysis with Gibbs sampling. We also approximate the nonmarginal benefit from discrete improvement in DW quality by calculating the willingness to pay for safe DW. The result shows that the average household of the Seoul Metropolitan Area in Korea is willing to pay 6048 Korean won (GBP 2.91) per month to obtain improved DW similar to boiled water in quality.

Modelling R&D expenditure data with zero observations: two-equation model

This article attempts to analyse the determinants of firms’ Research and Development (R&D) expenditures in Korea by considering the business environment after the economic crisis in 1997. In addition, to take into account zero R&D expenditure, this article employed a two-equation model unlike models used in other studies. This method incorporates a two-level decision structure: the participation decision and the decision on the amount to spend once the issue of participation has been decided. According to the estimation results, while the proposition that larger firms are more active in R&D is true, the proposition that firms that possess market power are more active in R&D is not true for Korea. Technical cooperation among Korean firms seems to be less active than in other countries. In addition, the results indicate that foreign investment stimulates the firms’ R&D expenditure. Furthermore, a number of factors were found to play a role in promoting firms’ R&D activities: the external conditions of the firms’ R&D activities, including the location, other firms’ R&D activities in the same industry, support from the government and technical support from research institutes.

Willingness to pay for a cyber ecological park

We attempt to value a cyber ecological park on the Internet by applying willingness to pay (WTP) survey techniques. The respondents’ judgements required in the survey were within their abilities and the households mean WTP for visiting the Woopo wetland cyber ecological park was estimated as 1203 Korean won (GBP 0.653) per connection.

Forecasting emissions of atmospheric pollutants in North Korea

Based on North Korea’s energy consumption of coal, oil, and electric power during a 20-year span between 1975 and 1994, this study estimated the demand of each energy source and forecasts the demand of each energy source for the next 10 years. The forecasted demand for energy, in turn, is used to forecast emissions of atmospheric pollutants, such as total suspended particles (TSP), SOx, CO2, hydrocarbons (HC), and NOx, for the next 10 years using emission factors. In doing so, this study adopts the ordinary least squares (OLS) approach and the vector autoregressive (VAR) approach, which, as only limited data are available concerning the energy, environmental, and economic situation of North Korea, is expected to improve the forecasting of emissions of atmospheric pollutants in North Korea.