Yun Young Gwak

Current Working Paper 

"Sectoral Spillovers and Inflation Dynamics: Evidence from Network Propagation"  (Draft and codes to be uploaded)

Distinguishing between sectoral and aggregate shocks—and assessing their contributions to inflation—is crucial for effective policy intervention. However, their interactive dynamics make this challenging. This paper reexamines the impact of sectoral shocks on inflation through a network-based approach, applying a novel factor-adjusted network analysis to disaggregated U.S. PCE price and consumption data across 26 sectors. Using lasso-nuclear-norm regularization, it fully estimates the sectoral transition matrix for 52 series while accounting for cross-sectional dependencies. The empirical findings show that (1) idiosyncratic sectoral shocks explain 78% of total inflation variation, (2) 37% of this stems from cross-sectoral price spillovers, contributing 28% to total variation, and (3) the food and energy sectors remain key net contributors to the pricing network even in the medium term. Comparing the results with two benchmark models—a pure VAR and a factor-augmented VAR—highlights the importance of explicitly modeling sectoral network effects for spillover analysis, with significant implications for policy design. 

Other Works in Progress 

Global Inflation (with James Morley & Benjamin Wong) 

Inflation Expectations and Financial Conditions (with Thuy Hang Duong)

Flattening of the Phillips Curve (with Qingyuan Du & Benjamin Wong)   

       >> More to come — open to new perspectives 

Academic experience (T&R)  

Teaching

• Intermediate Macroeconomics, 2024 S1-S2, 2025 S1-S2, Teaching Assistant to Prof Moshe Hazan and Prof Siew Ling Yew  (teaching evaluation)

• Macroeconometrics, 2024 S2, Mentor for Economics Pre-PhD and Honours students  (teaching evaluation not issued)

• Development Economics, Korean Economy, 2022 S2, Teaching Assistant to Prof Doowon Lee  (teaching evaluation not issued)

Research 

• "Trade Restrictiveness Indices and Non-Tariff Measures," 2025, Research Assistant to Prof Laura Puzzello

• "Implications of Global forces for Domestic Monetary Policy," Jan-Jun 2024, Research Assistant to Prof Benjamin Wong 

Professional experience, Bank of Korea  

• Economic Research Institute, Financial and Monetary Research Team, 2022

• Research Department, U.S. and Europe Economies Team, Economic Analysis Team, 2020-2022

• International Affairs Department, Regional Organizations Team, 2018-2020

Research at Bank of Korea - working papers

• Park, S., Gwak, Y. and Hwang, N. (2022), "Constraints on the Recovery of Construction Investment: Causes and Effects of Surge in Construction Material Prices," BOK Issue Note 2022-14. https://bit.ly/3Z1XZ8y 

• Park, K., Park, J., Park, S., Lim, J., Kim, C., Lee, J. and Gwak, Y. (2021), "The Macroeconomic Impact of Climate Change Responses” BOK Issue note, 2021-23. https://bit.ly/4fFs46c 

• Lee, K., Gwak, B. and Gwak, Y. (2021), “Fiscal Policies of the Biden Administration,” BOK International Economics Review, 2021-3. https://bit.ly/3kcjoNn   

• Gwak, B. and Gwak, Y. (2021), "Growth differences in the Euro Area after COVID-19," BOK International Economics Review, 2021-1. https://bit.ly/3IeC1bA   

• Gwak, B., Lee, K., Gwak, Y., Kang, B. and Oh, K. (2020), "Unemployment policies in major countries after COVID-19," BOK International Economics Review, 2020-35. https://bit.ly/3lRoa3p   

• Lee, G., Oh, K., Kang, B. and Gwak, Y. (2020), “Evaluating corporate risks after COVID-19,” BOK International Economics Review, 2020-22. https://bit.ly/3Izqyoh  

Honours and Awards  

• Dean's Excellence Award: Unit Prize in Advanced Topics in Microeconomics, 2024

• Monash Graduate Scholarship, Monash International Tuition Scholarship, 2024-2027

• Monash Scholarship for Excellence, 2023

• Graduate TA Scholarship, Yonsei University, 2022

• Summa Cum Laude, Sogang University, 2016

• Honors Scholarships, Sogang University, 2013-2015