Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/333768 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 12222
Publisher: 
Munich Society for the Promotion of Economic Research - CESifo GmbH, Munich
Abstract: 
We examine the consequences of South Korea's 2008–10 immigration reforms on the marriage market and intra-household outcomes. The reforms unintentionally reduced foreign bride inflows. Exploiting regional variation in exposure to the reforms and using uniquely rich data—administrative records, household surveys, and registries—we find that the reforms resulted in fewer new marriages, increased women's intra-household bargaining power, shifted in women's time from housework to employment, and increased well-being for both spouses. Divorce rates fell, with a shift from general incompatibility to abuse-related grounds. These findings reveal the reforms' unintended impacts on household dynamics and broader economic implications.
Subjects: 
immigration
policy reform
marriage market
intra-household allocation
bar-gaining power
divorce
JEL: 
F22
J12
J16
D13
K37
R23
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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