PurposeThe purpose of the study is twofold: to offer a theoretical model that illuminates families' motivation to invest in private tutoring and to consider the implications of such investments in the context of South Korea. Given that parents invest in private tutoring for their child if the perceived expected benefits, at the time of enrollment, are greater than the direct and indirect costs of such tutoring, the study explores how private tutoring may affect educational inequities and possibly lead to inferior social outcomes.Design/methodology/approachA theoretical model based on the human capital approach was developed. Three questions based on stylized facts were addressed: (1) Why would a household send a child to private tutoring? (2) Why do different households invest in different amounts of private tutoring? (3) Why may a household over-invest in private tutoring?FindingsThe findings of this study indicate that the demand for private tutoring services decreases with the costs of private tutoring, while increasing as levels of academic readiness and aptitude, levels of household education, levels of current wealth and expected returns to private tutoring increase. These findings imply that private tutoring may exacerbate social inequities and cause an inferior social outcome, but that a government can influence the demand for tutoring through taxation.Research limitations/implicationsThis study did not address the non-pecuniary benefits that may be derived from private tutoring. The most important limitation and potential source of weakness of the study is that the model is theoretical. These results therefore need to be interpreted with caution.Practical implicationsThe study indicates the need for private households, as well as government officials, to carefully consider the costs and benefits of private tutoring in South Korea. Although the study focuses on South Korea, the findings may apply to other countries in which private tutoring offerings are prominent.Social implicationsThe educational choices that families make for their children have important financial and social implications in all countries, but especially in South Korea. The important implication is that private tutoring will tend to aggravate educational and social inequality.Originality/valueThe existing body of research on private tutoring investment in South Korea suggests that the phenomenon is ubiquitous, growing and spreading to other countries. Furthermore, the motivation behind households' decisions to invest in private tutoring for their children is not always addressed in the published literature. Also, far too little attention has been paid to the economic impact private tutoring has on households and children, as well as society in general.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Objectives: While Korea is known to be entrepreneurial and the country is known to be driven by an innovative economy, entrepreneurial activity is more apparent within established businesses but not so much with new business ventures established by the youth and through education. This study will attempt to draw out the inherent factors, including those relating to business communication, which lead to the low propensity for youth entrepreneurship in Korea and determine the sources/causes of those factors. Methods: To identify and determine the sources of the factors, we reviewed and adapted literature for the traits, motivations, and barriers of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. We then surveyed articles providing case data of Korean youth to testify to those three aspects of entrepreneurs. Results: We ascertained that Korean youth lacked entrepreneurial activities and showed a low propensity to consider entrepreneurship a career path. This does not mean that Korean youth lack the capabilities to become entrepreneurs. Still, through the established cultural communication norms, they lack the self-awareness, exposure, experiences, and education for them to want to pursue entrepreneurship. Conclusions: From this study, we identified several factors and possible sources that reveal why Korean youth entrepreneurship is lacking. Our conceptual model specifies eight enablers that serve as guidelines and identify some communication norms that may need to be adjusted to help key players encourage entrepreneurial activity in youth.