Do Seasonal Worker Programs Meet Farm Labor Needs? Evidence from South Korea's Agricultural Sector

Jeongha Hwang and Kwansoo Kim

No 404598, 2026 Annual Meeting, July 26 - 28, 2026, Kansas City, Missouri from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: Agricultural labor demand is seasonal and heterogeneous, so foreign worker programs may depend on both program scale and design. This paper studies South Korea’s Seasonal Worker Program (SWP) and Public Seasonal Worker Program (PSWP), which differ in employment structure: the SWP relies on direct multimonth employment by farms, while the PSWP assigns workers to farms on a daily basis through local cooperative offices. Using confidential MAFRA farm labor survey microdata, we estimate disequilibrium models for foreign temporary and daily workers. Results suggest that foreign and domestic workers are closer substitutes within the same employment-duration category, while temporary and daily workers may serve complementary roles. We then convert predicted labor-day demand into worker-placement equivalents and compare them with approved program positions. Predicted demand exceeds approved positions under both programs, suggesting the need to consider both program scale and program mix.

Keywords: Consumer/Household Economics; Labor and Human Capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea26:404598

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.404598

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