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WEAI-KAEA/KEA Meeting
Two sessions are organized for the members of KAEA and Korean Economic Association at the Western Economic Association Meeting in San Fransisco this year.
Session 1: Applied Economic Issues I
Chairperson: In Kie Kim, Chung-Ang University
Presenters
Cheolsung Park, National University of Singapore, Changhui Kan, National University of Singapore, and Myung-Jae Lee, Singapore Management University
"Effects of Ability Mixing in High School on Adulthood Earnings: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from South Korea"
Ky Ttack Hong, Chung-Ang University, "Korean Credit Card Industry: Development and Crisis"
Hong Y Park, Saginaw Valley State University, and Geon-Cheol Shin,Kyung Hee University,
"The 1997 Korean Financial Crisis and Changes in Korean Firms: Evolutionary Theory of the Firm Perspective"
Yong U. Glasure, University of Houston-Victoria, "Another Look at the U.S.-Developed Equity Market Nexus"
Discussants:
Yong U. Glasure, University of Houston-Victoria
Kyung Soo Kim, Sungkyunkwan University
Chae Woong Lee, Sungkyunkwan University
Session 2: Applied Economic Issues II
Chairperson: H. Youn Kim, Western Kentucky University
Presenters
Hwagyun Kim and Chetan Subramanian, SUNY at Buffalo, "Velocity Shocks and Optimal Monetary Policy"
Junggun Oh, Bank of Korea, "Effectiveness of Stabilization Policies Under Uncertainty: The Korean Experience"
Kyung Hwan Baik, Sungkyunkwan University, "Endogenous Timing and Effort Levels in Two Player Asymmetric Contests"
Heejoon Kang, Indiana University, "International Trade Efficiency, the Gravity Equation, and the Stochastic Frontier"
Kyoo H. Kim, Bowling Green State University, and Young-Jin Kim, Seoul National University, "Spatial Competition for Bank Loans and Adverse Selection"
Address
by
Chae Woong Lee
President of the Korean Economic Association
Good afternoon. It is with great pleasure that I attend the first-ever joint session between the Korean American Economic Association and the Korean
Economic Association. I think we are particularly fortunate to have it take place in the beautiful city of San Francisco. It is extremely encouraging to see all
of you here today. This year's joint session between the KAEA and the KEA signifies an expansion of our members' academic arena. It is also a reaffirmation of the long-standing collaboration between the two very fine associations. Since 1984, the KEA has been hosting international conferences in Seoul every two years and has dedicated itself to promote understanding of the Korean economy. I am truly excited to say that starting this year, we will make the off-year KAEA-KEA conference a biennial event in America. To this extent, I want to thank all the members of the KAEA and the KEA for their participation and continued support.
I would like to take this opportunity to address an important issue concerning economics-related associations that I find rather unfortunate. Today, in
America as well as in Korea, we have a great number of economics-related associations. For example, when the Korean Economic Association hosted the
2005 Allied Economics Annual Conference this spring, the number of economics-related associations that participated in our conference was 37. That's a lot.
Despite such soaring figures, however, the level of participation in association activities among Korean economists, I'm afraid, has been dwindling for quite some time. Member participation has been noticeably limited, and I fear that economics as a discipline in social sciences is losing grounds to other disciplines. My perspective is that these are mainly due to the lack of vibrant participation and interest within the community of Korean economists. A conference is a gathering of academic scholars. The biggest challenge I see today in economic conferences is the lack of attendance from academic scholars.
As of 10-20 years ago, a great many economists showed keen interest in attending conferences, and economic conferences routinely sparked interest
among the government sector, the private sector and academia. Economics was a highly-regarded and noble academic discipline that commanded great respect
from other disciplines, so much that we enjoyed the reign of economic imperialism. Recently, however, economics has not received the attention it deserves
from society, possibly due to the decline in demand for economic services. Professor Jang-Hee Yoo, the former chair of the Korean Economic Association
already alluded to this problem several years ago. According to Professor Yoo, the supply of human capital within the realm of economics is not over-saturated,
but it remains critical to induce more demand for economic services.
This trend is particularly ironic and untimely since today our society is in need of economics more than ever. In order for the Korean economy to firmly
establish itself as an advanced market economy and in order for our nation to join the pack of leaders of the twenty-first century, our society needs proper
applications and education of economic studies more than ever. Unfortunately, the study of economics in Korea has not been able to accommodate today's
fast-paced ever-changing environment. By contrast, business management, over the course of the past two decades, has encouraged greater social demand
and improved its stature as an academic discipline. This owes a great deal to the fact that the business management science has been more flexible in adapting to
the changes in technologies and in the environment. Business management has also rendered itself to practical applications far more than economics has.
On top of that, the development of the internet, computer programs and other IT technologies have tended to discourage, rather than encourage,
participation in conference activities among economists. Economists continue to use technology for collecting information and completing their research,
but not much more than that. From this perspective, we have much to learn from American economists, who have been able to preserve their stature of
importance .They have also skillfully managed stable supply and demand for economic services. Korean economists need to start paying attention more
practical applications, more active participation, and more flexibility to accommodate the changes in our society. The most important part, I stress,
is continuing support and active participation from the members of these two associations.
Another critical problem that currently faces economic conferences is that low participation rate tends to promote even lower rate of members actually
paying the dues. This can jeopardize the financial health of associations that sponsor economic conferences. As you are well aware, conferences dealing with
economics cannot be sustained without outside sponsors, mainly corporations. This is ok; I do not necessarily insist that economic conferences need be
financially independent from outside sponsors. After all, a successful conference may provide great returns to society and corporations. And yet, ever since the
economic crisis of 1997, corporations have been less and less willing to provide funding for activities that are not directly and immediately related to their profit
motives. I'm sure the members of KAEA also realize that it has become much more difficult in recent years to obtain funding from Korean corporations.
As a result, joint effort and intimate relationship between KEA and KAEA are critical to the success of future conferences. This can only be based on the
long tradition of cooperation and trust. I applaud you for attending this year's conference. I want to encourage you to continue to attend and to have keen
interest in these conferences.
Lastly I would like to thank Dr. Kyu-Hong Kim, president of KAEA and Dr. In-Ki Kim, the former president of KEA for their selfless dedication and true
leadership in association activities and for their initiating and organizing the joint conference. Without their invaluable devotion, today?s conference would have not
been materialized. Thank you.
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