Ⅰ. Introduction 1

Ⅱ. Useable Income and Research Trend 7

Ⅲ. Research Method 19
1. Korea 23
2. Japan 24
3. United States 26
4. Germany 27
5. Sweden 29

Ⅳ. Comparison of Indicators of Ability to Afford Spending 31

Ⅴ. Conclusion 49

References 63

There are diverse paths to reducing income inequality. The most intuitive is to increase the income of the poor. Another is to reduce the burden of household expenditure on essential goods and services, particularly for the poor. Filling up a tank requires not only pouring more water into it, but also blocking the holes at the tank’s bottom. The latter approach is the subject of this paper. Reducing the financial burden of essential household expenditure on low-income families is as important a matter of policymaking as increasing household income. Of particular interest to this report are the amounts of money that Korean households spend on housing, healthcare, and education, as well as debts. This report compares Koreans’ spending on the categories to those of Americans, Germans, Swedes and Japanese, respectively.