Research

Selected Publications

1. "The Uneven Rise of American Public Schools to 1850" (with Peter H. Lindert), Journal of Economic History, Vol. 70, No. 1, pp.1-26. (March 2010)

- An expanded version is available as "The Curious Dawn of American Public Schools," NBER Working Paper #13335.

2. "The Effect of Population Aging on Local School Subsidies in Korea,” Korean Economic Review, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 121-144. (Summer 2015)


Working Papers

  1. "Free Schools in America, 1850-1870: Who Voted for Them, Who Got Them, and Who Paid"

  2. "The Virtues and Vices of School District Consolidation: Evidence from U.S. Cities, 1880-1912"

  3. "The Elite-biased Growth of Elementary Schooling in Colonial Korea" (joint with Ki-Joo Park)

  4. “Long-term economic impacts of early marriage during wartime: evidence from colonial Korea”

  5. “Inequality within the Education of Black Children in the Postbellum U.S.” (joint with Kitae Sohn)

  6. “Two paths to universal public schooling in Japanese colonies: a comparative analysis of Korea and Taiwan” (joint with Ki-Joo Park)

  7. "Identifying Historical Shocks to the Marriage Decisions: The Age at Marriage of the Koreans from the 11th to early 20th century" (joint with Heejin Park)

  8. "Land Ownership Inequality in the 1850 USA"

  9. “Cram school curfew laws and the youth's allocation of time” (joint with Yugyung Jung)

  10. "Ethnic Diversity and the Provision of Local Public Goods: Evidence from U.S. History"


Research in progress

  1. “The Decline of Gender Bias in Schooling in 20th Century Korea”

  2. “Intra-household Flypaper Effects in the Korean School Lunch Program”

  3. “Test Scores, School Quality, and Housing Values” (joint with Jin-Yeong Kim)

  4. “The Value of Gas Safety” (joint with Jiyoung Kim and Heonjae Song)

  5. “Natural Disasters, Trust, and Economic Growth” (joint with Heonjae Song)

  6. “Consequences of the Policy to Increase the Employment of High School Graduates” (joint with Heejin Jung)

  7. “Eat Less Rice, More Barley and Wheat! Policies and Campaigns to Reduce Rice Consumption in the 1960-70s” (joint with Jiyoung Kim)