Research Interests

Macro and Monetary Economics, International Economics, Applied Time-Series Econometrics, Institutional Performance Analysis, Machine Learning

Working Papers

• Monetary Policy under Data Uncertainty: Interest-Rate Smoothing from a Cross-Country Perspective [media coverage][AEA2021][EWMES21], under revision

Cross-country estimates of Taylor rules suggest that higher data uncertainty is associated with more inertial behavior of interest rates. Data uncertainty is measured by the volatility of differences between real-time data and revisions thereto. Using a simple structural model with Kalman filter learning to replicate the cross-country pattern of the inertial behavior, we show that inertial behavior increases not because central banks gradually adjust interest rates in the face of data uncertainty, but because their inferences about the true data are correlated with past interest rates. The inertial behavior of interest rates is thus endogenized as resulting in part from the learning process.

• The Role of Economic Policy Uncertainty in Outward Foreign Direct Investment (with Yuhyeon Bak), R&R at Journal of International Money and Finance

This paper investigates the effects of relative economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on outward foreign direct investment (FDI) from South Korea to 21 host countries. We develop a theoretical model for the relationship between uncertainty and outward FDI and estimate the dynamic effects of the relative EPU on FDI outflows using the dynamic panel and panel VAR models. We find that a relatively high EPU in the home country significantly contributes to increased outward FDI. When a one-percent relative EPU shock occurs, FDI outflow peaks in the fifth quarter, with the accumulated response of FDI outflows rising approximately 1.43%, then gradually decreasing over the next quarters.

• Dynamic Coupling of the U.S. and Canadian Industrial Production Indices, submitted

We study the coupling of the United States and Canada's industrial production indices using a non-linear autoregressive model. Estimating the exponential smooth transition autoregressive (ESTAR) model in the literature is improved with an expanded set of specifications. We identify the dynamic linkage between the United States and Canada and evaluate the forecast performance of each model. The results show the non-linear autoregressive model with bilateral trade linkage to outperform other models suggested by existing studies.

Works in Progress

• Central Bank Swap Lines and Currency Internationalization in Trade (with Yang Jiao, Ohyun Kwon, and Shang-Jin Wei)

• Does Internationalization of RMB Facilitate Cross-Border Trade? (with Yang Jiao and Ohyun Kwon)

• Exchange Rate Pass-through to Export Prices: The Role of Foreign Currency Debt (with Junhyong Kim and Annie Soyean Lee)

• Machine Learning Approach to FOMC Sentiment Analysis (with Hope Hyeun Han)

• College Education, Occupational Sorting, and International Trade (with Soo Hyun Oh)

Journal Articles

• The Cyclical Behavior of Household and Corporate Credit in Emerging Economies (with Seung-Gyu Sim), Emerging Markets Review 45, December 2020. [SSRN]

Standard consumption-investment theory predicts counter-cyclical (pro-cyclical) behavior of household (corporate) credit whereby households' consumption smoothing and firms' investment motives are aligned. Counter to the theoretical symbiosis consistent with U.S. data, we demonstrate not only in South Korea, but also in 19 emerging economies that the pro-cyclical behavior of household credit dominates that of corporate credit. Our analysis further reveals that dominant, pro-cyclical household credit accompanied by (collateral) assets and fueled by external debt generates counter-cyclical behavior in interest rates, amplifies credit market fluctuation, and hinders the growth of small- and medium-size businesses in the South Korean economy.

• Macroeconomic Conditions and Wage Inequality: Expanding and Analyzing the Worldwide Dataset, accepted. [SSRN]

This paper introduces a comprehensive dataset examining wage inequality and returns to education across 40 countries, revisiting earlier studies on the effects of economic development, trade openness, and returns to skill on wage inequality. Our findings include: (i) the presence of Kuznets' "inverted U-curve" in wage inequality data, (ii) a positive relationship between trade openness and both wage inequality and returns to education, (iii) a positive relationship between levels of wage inequality and levels of return to education, and (iv) an intriguing phenomenon where accelerated skill-biased technological change leads to a deceleration of the wage gap widening process, as evidenced by the negative relationship between changes in wage inequality and changes in returns to education.

Other Research Works

• Reframing for New Insights and Opportunities (with Joonhwan In, Young-Choon Kim, MinChung Kim, and Hope Hyeun Han), Hankyungsa, 2020.

• Economic Impact of UNIST (with UNIST indicator research team), UNIST, May 2022.

Doctoral Dissertation

• Essays in Macroeconomics

University of Wisconsin - Madison,  April 2019