ScholarWorks@성균관대학교

초록

This study documented the trends of income stratification by occupational class in South Korea between 1998 and 2022, employing an analytic tool specifically designed to measure the levels of stratification, the stratification index. According to the analysis based on the index, the levels and trends of wage stratification in South Korea substantially differed by class scheme and gender. First, the degree of stratification based on an aggregate occupational class scheme consistently decreased between 1998 and 2022, but wage stratification based on a micro-class scheme did not present a clear direction or pattern over the same period. Second, the stratification trends of the aggregate and micro-class schemes are similar for both male and female workers, but the absolute levels of wage stratification were substantially higher for females than males. Third, the trends of the stratification index were considerably different from those measured by conventional inequality measures, such as the Gini coefficient and the Theil index. Lastly, compared with the case of the United States, more differences than commonalities are pronounced, implying a contextualized application and interpretation of the stratification index. These empirical findings from South Korea provide ample ground for further discussion on and development of the study of social stratification vis-à-vis inequality. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd

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