The gender wage gap from a skill-based perspective: Asian PIAAC Insights (with Chanyoung Lee), get the paper here 

Abstract 

This paper aims to clarify the gender wage gap from a skill-based perspective with a primary focus on advanced Asian economies including Japan, Korea, and Singapore using the PIAAC dataset. We find that higher returns to cognitive skills are associated with a lower gender wage gap across countries, in contrast, across quantiles higher returns to cognitive skills are connected with a higher gender wage gap in all three countries. On the other hand, we reveal the presence of diminishing returns to cognitive skills across quantiles. In addition, age and gender differences in returns to cognitive skills exist. The results from the IV and additional control approaches confirm the potential link between returns to cognitive skills and the gender wage gap. The results from Gelbach (2016) decomposition suggest that cognitive skills play a significant role in explaining the gender wage gap, however to different degrees in each country with the largest contribution in Singapore and the smallest in Korea. Various factors affect the variation in returns to cognitive skills and the gender wage gap across countries. This research offers valuable insights for policymakers to address wage disparities and improve skills utilization.

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.