Research

My primary research lies in the field of international trade, with an emphasis on the role of across-firm differences in product quality in a model of firm heterogeneity in shaping firms' competitiveness within a sector and the pattern of exports. My research interests mainly include, but are not limited to, the microeconomics aspects of international trade. I also investigate economic development and growth and in particular, the effect of such trade-related mechanisms as comparative advantage on the structural transformation of economies.

Publications

1. Who Exports Better Quality Products to Smaller or More Distant Markets? Review of International Economics, Vol 22, Issue 3, Aug 2014

2. Skilled-Labor Intensity Differences across Firms, Product Quality, and Wage Inequality, Open Economies Review, Vol 27, Issue 2, Apr 2016

3. Structural Transformation and Comparative Advantage: Implications for Small Open Economics, The World Economy, Vol 40, Issue 4, Apr 2017

4. Comparative Advantage, Product Quality, and the Competitiveness of Firms, Journal of Korea Trade, Vol 21, Issue 3, 2017

5. To whom does outward FDI give jobs?, Open Economies Review, Vol 29, Issue 3, July 2018

6. Exports and Job Creation in South Korea: Industry-level analysis, Journal of Korea Trade, Vol 23, Issue 1, 2019

7. Organizational Capabilities, Export Growth and Job Creation: An Investigation of Korean SMEs, with F. Liu & K. Park, Sustainability, Vol 11, Issue 14, 2019

8. The Effect of Non-tariff Measures on Employment, Journal of Industrial Economics and Business (in Korean), Vol 33, Issue 3, 2020

9. The Effect of Non-tariff Measures on Exports, Korea Trade Review (in Korean), Vol 45, Issue 1, 2020

10. Exports and firm employment: the role of R&D and exports to affiliates, with Y. Kang, Applied Economics, Vol 54, Issue 30, 2022

11. The Effect of Ecommerce on Firm Performance, with K. Y. Lee, Journal of International Trade and Industry Studies (in Korean), Vol. 27, Issue 2, 2022

12. Contractors’ Asymmetric Bargaining Power and the Impact on Subcontractors’ Wages, with K. Koo, Journal of Market Economy, Vol. 51, Issue 2, 2022

13. Policy-based Loans to Korean SMEs and the Intensive Margin of Exports, with K. Koo, East Asian Economic Review, Vol. 26, Issue 3, 2022

14. Productivity gap and expatriate utilization, with S. Lee, S. Nahm, C. H. Oh, Multinational Business Review, Vol. 31. Issue 2. 2023

15. Trade Restrictions on Digital Services and the Impact on Manufacturing Exports, with F. Yang & Y. Wang, The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Vol. 33, Issue 4, 2024

16. Exporting and Sourcing Strategies, with Y. Kang, Review of International Economics, Vol. 31, Issue 4, 2023

17. International knowledge transfers and capital structure of multinational affiliates: Evidence from expatriate managers as the transfer agents, with R. Kim & Y. Kang, Journal of Multinational Financial Management, Vol. 68, 2023, 100801

18. Export effects of non-tariff measures: The role of aid for trade, with F. Yang & Y. Wang, The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Forthcoming

19. Impact of Technical Barriers to Trade Measures on Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms,  with F. Yang & Y. Wang, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Forthcoming

Working Papers

1. The Rise of China and the Rebound in Korea's Manufacturing Employment

2. Exports and Firm Employment: the roles of R&D and exports to affiliates

3. Inter-industry Distance and the Regional Growth

4. Macroeconomic Implications of Global Value Chains

5. The Effects of New Exports on Boundary Decisions of the Firm: whether to make or buy

Works in Progress

1. The hump-shaped Relationship Between a Country's Capital Abundance and Relative Export Performance In the Intermediate Capital-Intensive Sectors

2. Firm Heterogeneity, Product Quality, and the Welfare Gains from Trade

3. Heterogeneous Firms, Quality Competition, and Comparative Advantage