Chan Kim

Chan Kim (김찬)

I am an Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where I work on North Macedonia.

I received my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland in 2025.

My research examines the interactions among international trade, foreign direct investment, and innovation.

Curriculum Vitae: CV

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Research

Working Papers

From Research to Development: How Globalization Shapes Corporate Innovation [Draft] (R&R at the Review of Economic Studies)

Awarded FREIT-EIIT Best Graduate Student Paper Prize (2024), CIBE PhD International Research Award (2024)

Abstract: I show that globalization has shifted U.S. corporate innovation from scientific research to commercial development. Analyzing data from publicly traded firms, I find evidence that substantial tariff reductions at export destinations following the “Uruguay Round'' led U.S. firms focus on a narrower range of technologies, reducing their emphasis on scientific research. To explain these findings, I develop a multi-product firm model that distinguishes between research and development. Globalization—modeled as an expanded market size—reallocates profits toward products for which firms hold a competitive advantage. Consequently, firms increasingly focus their innovation efforts on core products, favoring development as it more effectively targets them. The model embeds a crucial welfare trade-off: while a greater focus on development increases high-productivity products, a stronger emphasis on research enhances the overall innovation efficiency of the economy through knowledge spillovers. Calibration to U.S. manufacturing firms shows that these innovation decisions double the productivity gains from globalization but reduce welfare gains. The welfare-maximizing policy suggests that research subsidies should exceed development subsidies, particularly after globalization, to offset the decline in research share.

Innovation Spurred: Evidence from South Korea’s Big R&D Push [Draft]

with Luis F. Jaramillo

Abstract: We study how South Korea’s first “mission-oriented” R&D program shaped innovation and economic outcomes after its implementation between 1992 and 2001. Using new textual data from archival sources and a language model to identify targeted and control technological classes, we exploit that some research projects were planned but not implemented due to budget shocks. We use a local projections event study to compare the outcomes of targeted technological classes relative to control classes. Despite the absence of differential trends before the program, targeted classes doubled their future-citation-weighed patenting output and tripled their real exports relative to control classes ten years after receiving program support. Our findings suggest that technology policy played a central role in South Korea’s transition to a knowledge-intensive economy.

Trade Search Frictions: Public Information, Exports, and Concentration [Draft] (Submitted)

with Daisoon Kim

Abstract: Finding overseas buyers presents a significant barrier for firms seeking entry into international markets, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Utilizing data from South Korea’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) on overseas buyer contacts, we find that the provision of overseas buyer information promotes manufacturing exports, particularly benefiting SMEs. Motivated by these findings, we develop a buyer search trade model that incorporates an export promotion policy, where TPOs provide buyer information, prompting firms to adjust their search activities. Our quantitative analysis based on a sufficient statistics approach reveals that in Korea, information frictions diminish exports by 41.5% but increase the top 4 exporters' concentration by 59%. These findings highlight the potential of alleviating buyer information frictions as an effective tool for trade promotion and concentration mitigation.

Publications

Knowledge Diffusion Through FDI: Worldwide Firm-level Evidence

Journal of International Economics, 160 (March 2026), 104205. WP version is here.

with Jaebin Ahn, Nan Li, and Andrea Manera

Abstract: This paper examines the impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on knowledge diffusion by analyzing the effect of firm-level FDI activities on cross-border patent citations. We construct a novel firm-level panel dataset that combines global utility patent and citations data with project-level information on greenfield FDI and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), covering 60 countries over the past two decades. Applying a new local projection difference-in-differences methodology, we find that FDI significantly enhances knowledge flows both from and to the investing firms. Citation flows between investing firms and host countries increase by 7.8% to 13% in five years after the initial investment, with stronger effects observed for greenfield FDI compared to M&A. These effects are larger when host countries have higher innovation capacity or are technologically more similar to the investing firm. We also uncover knowledge spillovers beyond the targeted firms and industries, particularly pronounced in sectors closely connected in the technology space.

Selected Work in Progress

Replaced or Reinforced? Outward FDI and R&D Investment

with Youngho Kang and Eunhee Lee

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