Research

Journal Publications:

An Analysis of Price Effects by Operator of Thrifty Gas Stations in the Korean Gasoline Market (with Gyeonggeun Park), Korean Energy Economic Review 24:1 (March 2025) 51-74

 [published paper]

Global Implementation of Net-zero Policies and Strategies of the Oil Industry (with Sang Yoon Shin), Strategic Studies 31:1 (March 2024) 105-130 

 [published paper]

Sectoral Impacts of Oil Shocks on the Korean Manufacturing Industry (with Ingul Baek and Sanha Noh), Korean Energy Economic Review 22:1 (March 2023) 291-317

 [published paper]

Changing Market Structure and Evolving Ways to Compete: Evidence from Retail Gasoline, The Energy Journal, 43:6 (November 2022) 147-167

 [published paper] [working paper]

Energy Transitions in Major Gulf Countries and their Renewable Energy Sector Competitiveness (with Sang Yoon Shin), Journal for Institute of Middle East Studies 40:3 (March 2022) 85-108 

 [published paper]

Eastern Mediterranean Gas Discoveries: Local and Global Impact (with Sang Yoon Shin), Middle East Policy 28:1 (Spring 2021) 135-146 

 [published paper]

Competition or Cooperation? The Geopolitics of Gas Discovery in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (with Sang Yoon Shin), Energy Research & Social Science 74 (April 2021) article 101983 

 [published paper]

Business Cycles and Impacts of Oil Shocks on the Korean Macroeconomy (with Ingul Baek), Environmental and Resource Economics Review 29:2 (June 2020) 171-194

 [published paper]

OPEC’s Strategy in the Global Oil Market and its Responses in the Post-Coronavirus Era (with Sang Yoon Shin), Journal of Middle Eastern Affairs 19:2 (June 2020) 1-32

 [published paper]

 [published paper]

 [published paper] [working paper]

 : Selected for the 2018 best article by a younger scholar in the Review of Industrial Organization.

Working Papers:

"Price Discrimination in Retail Gasoline: Evidence from a Natural Experiment", with Emek Basker, First Draft: April 2018

      Abstract: Since 2013, Korean government officials have been required to refuel at contracted gasoline stations, at about 5% discounts relative to the posted price. The initial contract terminated in November 2015 and a new group of sellers took over the contract. In this paper, we use this natural experiment to examine the impact of the government contract on gasoline prices, using a difference-in-difference analysis and price data on all gasoline stations in Seoul. We find that, all else equal, posted prices of contracted gasoline stations are about 2% higher than those of non-contracted stations. This finding is consistent with the prediction of models of price discrimination that prices decrease when the elasticity of demand falls. The effect on prices is not uniform across all stations, however. The contract leads to larger increases in full-service stations’ posted prices than in self-service stations’ prices, and larger increases at stations with fewer nearby competitors. The contract also decreases prices of non-contracted stations very close to contracted stations.

"An Empirical Study on the Impact of the Wholesale Price Discount on the Price of Oil Companies and Gas Stations: Evidence from the Korean Gasoline Market", First Draft: February 2012, Master's thesis

      Abstract: The major oil companies in South Korea – SK Energy, GS Caltex, Hyundai Oilbank, and S-OIL – implemented a price-discount policy that they provided gasoline to retailers at 100 KRW discounts (approx. 0.34 USD), temporarily for three months from April 2011. In this paper, I examine the effect of the policy on prices using panel data of the wholesale and retail gas prices from April 2009 to October 2011. I find that there was a 22-cents reduction of wholesale prices, which was smaller than the oil companies announced, and gas stations even increased their prices by 4 cents during the policy period. These findings suggest that the benefit of the wholesale-price discount was not fully given to customers and absorbed in part into the profits of gas stations. 

 [Link to library]