Making the Invisible Visible: International Evidence on the Economic Value of Socioemotional Skills. get the paper here 

Abstract 

We provide the first evidence on the returns to socioemotional (SEM) skills and their complementarity with cognitive skills from a broad cross-national perspective across 21 advanced countries and economies using PIAAC Cycle 2 data. SEM skills are measured through the Big Five Inventory (BFI), as well as a non-BFI question eliciting patience. We observe substantial cross-country variation in the returns to SEM skills and the complementarity of skills. We also observe significant heterogeneity in returns to skills and complementarity by the earning distribution, gender, age groups, migration status, economic sector, firm size, and skill match within and between countries. Finally, as a stylized fact, we show that agreeableness, neither as a standalone trait nor in combination with cognitive skills, creates economic value in terms of wages.

Analysis on the relationship between migration and informal activities in Tajikistan (with Chanyoung Lee and Javahir Gofurov ), The Studies in Regional Development, Vol. 55, No. 2, pp. 1-23. https://dx.doi.org/10.35526/srd.2023.55.2.001

Abstract 

Tajikistan is a poor and developing country with a very large informal activity and extensive international workers' migration. Using the gap between household expenditure and income as an indicator of informal activity allows us to define how informal activity and migration are correlated. We find negative significant correlations between informal activities and migration. The following facts support this. The proportion of migrant workers is higher (1) in rural areas than in urban areas and (2) for low-skilled workers than for skilled and professionals. This suggests that in urban areas, a significant portion of expenditure is made through informal activities that are not officially included in the reported income. On the other hand, low-skilled workers have less chance to engage in informal activities, so they are more likely to migrate abroad to earn more. As a concluding remark, migration is recognized as an alternative to informal sector activities in Tajikistan. This study not only defined informal activities using the difference between expenditure and income but also clarified the correlation between informal activities and migration by separating the income of households with migrants according to the inclusion of remittances. 

1. The assessment of manufacturing SMEs job creation Ability in Afghanistan: The case of Kabul, Afghanistan, AISA record from 2003 – 2016, International Economics and Finance Journal, Vol. 4, No. 2.  (2019) - get the paper here 

2. Diaspora as agents of economic development: Engagement discourse and practice in Rwanda ( with Emmanuel Ntegamaherezo, Chanyoung Lee, and Kyunghak Kim)  

3. Why does the income gap exist?  Hong Kong natives versus mainland immigrants (with Jingxuan Ren, and Chanyoung Lee) presented at AASLE 2022 Conference hosted by The University of Tokyo, Japan.