The Net Contribution of Nuclear Power to the National Economy in Korea

The objective of the study is to quantify the net contribution of nuclear power to the national economy in Korea focusing on the operating phase of nuclear power. This study is to see what would have happened to the Korean national economy, if all the nuclear power had been completely replaced with its substitute, coal power, providing a mechanism addressing a possible feedback between price and output on a national economy, triggered by the structural change in power sector. The role of nuclear power is estimated to be significant in terms of total output, GDP, price level, and labor employment in Korean economy. The net contribution of nuclear power estimated in this study can be recognized as positive externalities of nuclear power, which can be used to balance between positive externalities and negative externalities in the estimation of social cost of nuclear power, on which public concerns are substantially growing in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear power accident in Japan