Sangwoo Lee

Welcome!

I am an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Employment Research (IER), University of Warwick. Prior to joining Warwick, I was a Research Fellow at UCL and a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge.

I hold a PhD in Economics of Education from the University of Cambridge (2022), an Ed.M. in International Education Policy from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Economics from Grinnell College.

Research Agenda 

My research lies at the intersection of Applied Economics, Public Policy, Strategic Human Capital, and Organisational Governance. Leveraging large-scale administrative microdata and quasi-experimental designs, I examine how public policies, organisational environments, and technological transitions shape graduate talent sorting, workplace governance, job quality, and business performance. My research also investigates how higher education and labour market policies influence the allocation of human capital and inequalities in employment outcomes.

My primary research agenda revolves around two interconnected streams:

1. Strategic Human Capital & Job Quality: Investigating how multidimensional job quality (e.g., worker discretion, autonomy, non-monetary amenities, and job design) drives organisational capabilities, talent retention, worker well-being, and firm-level productivity. I also examine the distribution and economic consequences of precarious/low-quality jobs across Europe and East Asia.

2. Governance of AI & Higher Education Outcomes: Analysing how technological adoption, specifically AI and algorithmic management, reshapes workplace governance and job quality. Concurrently, I evaluate how higher education institutions cultivate skills and facilitate social mobility, determining how graduates transition into high-quality jobs in the evolving labour market.

My recent work includes studies on algorithmic management in digital workplaces, multidimensional job quality metrics, cross-national comparative trends in workplace governance, and the labour market returns to higher education.