Colloquium in June 2025
Soo-yeon Moon and Kwang-yeong Shin (Chung-ang University, Department of Sociology)
This paper analyzes the factors affecting the formation of single-person households, and the relationship between single-person households and income inequality.
First, considering that the types and causes of single-person households vary throughout the life course, we analyzed the factors by dividing them into non-married single-person households, divorced single-person households, and widowed single-person households. Differences in the effects of gender, age, region, housing type, income, and assets were found depending on the type of single-person household. In particular, income and assets had a clear impact on unmarried single-person households and divorced single-person households.
Second, income level, level of income inequality, and poverty rate also showed differences depending on the type of single-person household.
Lastly, as a result of analyzing the contribution of factors affecting overall income inequality, it was found that single-person households and the non-working population had a critical influence.
In the conclusion, we discuss social policies for each type of single-person household from a life course approach to ensure that the increase in household type does not lead to deepening poverty and inequality.
