근로 저소득층을 위한 자산 형성 지원 제도 설계에 관한 연구

This paper discusses the institutional design of an asset-building support program for low income families, which is a new form of public assistance to compensate for the National Basic Livelihood Protection Scheme. Given the fact that the welfare beneficiary is a rational actor who tries to maximize self-interest, the beneficiary may lose their incentive to work and thus cannot escape from a poverty trap. This is claimed to be an institutional characteristic of the National Basic Livelihood Protection Scheme, that the beneficiary may not be able to qualify for the benefits if household income as well as assets are increased and thus the beneficiary cannot pass the means test. If the public assistance program is not aimed at alleviating poverty but at reducing poverty, the Asset-Building Support Program needs to be introduced. In order to be entitled to the Program, potential applicants have to pass the means test, that is, the amount of current household income must be lower than the amount of minimum subsistence costs. And potential applicants must belong to the economically active population aged 15 to 65 years old, having earned income through work. The account holder under the Program can save the maximum amount of 10.8 million won for three years with interest paid on savings and matching funds provided by the government. During this period, while the account holder maintains a saving account, s/he can be expected to save regularly. A growing bank account provides families with a reason to believe in themselves and their potential, the opportunity to imagine a future better than the present, an ability to plan and prepare for the future, and a chance to invest in children.