The Journal of Population Studies

This paper examines the relationship between i) marriage will and marriage behavior ii) working importance and marriage behavior by using Japanese Panel Survey of Consumers (JPSC) which investigated Japanese women who are in period of family formation. First examination proved that single women and her mother's attributes determine marriage will especially education population scale at her residence and wage rate raise it. However ageing causes lowering marriage will which is called adoption effect. Furthermore selection effect that marriage will influences on real marriage behavior has been cleared. In the way there are two types of variances one is directly influenced on the actual behavior and the other is indirectly influenced on it through the marriage will. Second examine proves the difference of working importance do not decide marriage behavior so selection effect was rejected. Also working it does not change by experienced marriage or childbirth, which means there is no adoption effect. This analysis proved that there is no relation between family formation and employment. However the variable using here might not be best one expressing women's delicate mind between family formation and work.

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This study aims to discover the patterns of Korean women's experience of family and economic activities and to articulate the way in which women themselves interpret their life. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches are employed to understand the Korean women's life experiences. The analysis of the sequences of Korean women's family and economic activities over their life course reveals five distinctive patterns of for ever married Korean women; working women with no job interruption (13.7%), women who reentered the labor market after maternal leave (M type, 18.6%), women who resigned and have not yet reentered labor market (latent M type, 26.9%), women with first job entry only after child rearing (23.5%), and finally, women with no work experience over their life time (17.3%). The relative composition of the respective life course shows a significant change over marriage cohorts. M type including latent M type became a dominant life pattern among marital cohorts of the 1980s and later. It is also noted that the share of women with no job interruptions has increased among the marital cohorts of 1990 and later. This study also examines how Korean women interpret their experience of family and economic activities, based on in-depth interviews with Korean women during the period of 2002 and 2003. These women's narratives illuminate the fact that family centeredness constitutes the central part of their identity. What deserves emphasis is that family centeredness of Korean young married women is the orientation actively obtained in the pursuit of their and their family social achievement. A critical concern is raised regarding the contradictory consequence of family centrality on women's autonomy and gender equality.

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