Academic sessions at the 2007 Chicago ASSA meeting

The KAEA held three academic sessions at the 2007 ASSA meeting in Chicago (Jan 5-7). The topic of the joint session with AEA was "North Korean economy at a crossroads." Participants discussed economic issues such as inflation, trade balance, and direct investment in North Korea as well as humanitarian aid issues. The session was quite successful with more than 45 people attending. Following last year's meeting, we allocated the remaining two sessions to specific fields (not necessarily related to the Korean economy). This year, the topics were empirical labor economics and macroeconomics related to government policies, financial markets and economic fluctuations. Each session was composed of four top frontier papers in the field, where the selected presenters are top junior Korean economists who are not yet actively participating in the KAEA activities. Each session attracted approximately 30-40 people including a number of non-Koreans who are not connected to the KAEA.

Average attendance at this year's conference was better than at last year's but we still need to increase the number of attendants which is the criteria used by the ASSA board to evaluate the quality of the academic session and in deciding whether to remove some sessions from the affiliated societies at the annual meeting. We encourage our members to participate in the academic sessions at the meeting in order to maintain the three sessions that we currently have been allotted.

2007 Annual Business Meeting

The 2007 Annual Meeting was held on January 6, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago. President Suk Hi Kim reported the activities of the KAEA in 2006, including the joint conferences with the KEA, BOK, KDI and KIF, and KAEA sponsoring sessions at the SEA annual meetings. President Kim listed the following three as the major achievements during his presidency: (1) addition of 24 lifetime members, (2) establishment of the travel support fund for Korean Ph. D. candidates, and (3) documentation of the nomination procedure and selection criteria for both the Young Scholar Award and Maekyung-KAEA Economists Award. Secretary General Sunghyun Kim reported the KAEA activities related to the ASSA while Treasurer Bang Nam Jeon made the KAEA financial report for the 2006 year term.

Before the business meeting, Professor Jisoon Lee of Seoul National University, the Chair of the Organizing Committee of the 2006 KEA-KAEA International Conference, read the speech prepared by Dr. Un-Chan Chung, the KEA President. President Chung presented his view on the current economic issues in Korea (see the text of his talk by clicking on Un-ChanChung). Discussions on the current economic issues in Korea were continued the following day in the Panel Discussion on Korean Economy where Dr. Jung Taik Hyun (President of the KDI; Paper by Jung Taik Hyun), Dr. Myung-Kee Kim (Deputy General Director of the IMER, Bank of Korea) and Dr. Dosoung Choi (President, Korea Securities Research Institute) presented their views.

This year is the second year that the banquet dinner was held at the headquarter hotel, Hyatt Regency Hotel, instead of having the annual dinner at a Korean restaurant as in the past. Approximately 90 members and their guests showed up for the annual banquet. The dinner speaker was Dr. James Lister, Korea Economic Institute of America, who reported the KEI activities to the KAEA members.

Maekyung-KAEA Forum

The inaugural Maekyung-KAEA forum was held on January 4th at the Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel. This forum is sponsored by the Maeil Business Newspaper and is an open forum with focus on contemporary economic issues in the world economy. This year's topic was on the prospects of the US economy and its impact on Korea: monetary, exchange rate and trade policies. We had three presenters this year, Jaewoo Lee (IMF), Jinill Kim (FRB) and Sungjoon Cho (Chicago-Kent Law School, Illinois Institute of Technology). Newspaper article on this forum can be found at MaeKyung.

Submission deadline: March 7, 2007.

To submit a paper, one has to be (or become) a lifetime KAEA member or has paid his/her annual membership dues for 2006 and 2007. When you submit your paper, please indicate clearly the name of the conference you are submitting to.

The KAEA invites papers for the 2007 GRI-KAEA joint conference to be held on June 1, 2007. GRI (Gyeonggi Research Institute), located in Suwon, is the research arm for the Gyeonggi Province. The theme of the conference is "Gyeonggi-Do in the World Economy." The conference seeks research papers with policy emphasis in the area of Gyeonggi-Do in the globalized economy, regional/urban development strategy, and any other policy issues (e.g., regulatory, international trade, FTA etc.) faced with the provincial government. The conference participants are expected to take part in the tour of the Province organized by GRI on Saturday, June 2. Each paper selected for presentation will receive travel support of 3,500,000 Korean won. In addition, local accommodation will be provided for conference participants for the duration of two nights and three days.

Submission: Submit your completed paper or extended abstract of more than 600 words by e-mail to Vice President Sunwoong Kim (kim@uwm.edu). Please contact him as soon as possible if you intend to submit a paper . Submitted papers will be reviewed by the referees selected by both the GRI and the KAEA.

Submission deadline: April 15, 2007.

To submit a paper, one has to be (or become) a lifetime KAEA member or has paid his/her annual membership dues for 2006 and 2007. When you submit your paper, please indicate clearly the name of the conference you are submitting to.

In addition to the president Yong H. Kim and vice president Sunwoong Kim, following members will participate in the GRI conference as a presenter or a discussant:

Presenters:

Discussants: Yoon, Yong Joon and Glasure, Yong U.

See the entire PROGRAM.

Submit your completed papers with an abstract of 200-400 words, including JEL code, by e-mail to Vice President Sunwoong Kim (kim@uwm.edu). Only completed papers will be considered. Submitted papers will be reviewed by the referees selected by both the KIF and the KAEA.

Submission deadline: March 31, 2007.

To submit a paper, one has to be (or become) a lifetime KAEA member or has paid his/her annual membership dues for 2006 and 2007. When you submit your paper, please indicate clearly the name of the conference you are submitting to.

The KIF/KAEA/KAFA annual conference was successfully held at the KIF building in Seoul on May 28th, 2007. The title of the symposium was "Financial Innovation and Recent Trends in the Banking Industry and Capital Markets."

The first topic on banking industry was presented by two KAFA members: Professor K. Park on the Korean banking performance and Professor Y. Park on the mortgage markets. Professor K. Park compared the performance of regional and national banks in Korea by examining differential profitability during 1992-2004 and found that economic growth, exchange rate, efficiency, and non-performing loans are important determinants of profitability for both regional and national banks. Professor Y. Park examined the model risks due to innovations in mortgage markets in valuing mortgages and mortgage-backed securities and suggested that the model risks contributed large losses to mortgage market participants during bond market rallies.

The second topic on capital markets was presented by a KAEA member, a KAFA member, and a research fellow at the KIF. Professor Y. Kim from KAEA added the bond market to bank and stock markets to study the role of financial development on economic growth and found that only government bonds are positively related to economic growth. The second speaker Professor S. Chung from the KAFA addressed lessons from hedge fund failure identifying important statistics attributed to failed hedge funds and concluded that both quantitative and qualitative due diligence are equally important in monitoring hedge fund risk exposure. The last speaker, Dr J. Koo from the KIF examined the predictability of option pricing models. He found that a mixture of two lognormal models performs well for out-of-the money options, while the Edgeworth expansion dominates other models for in-the-money options.

The conference offered a unique opportunity to both U.S. academics and Korean practitioners and researchers sharing fruitful knowledge on the financial and banking industries. The KIF president, H. Choe proposed reviewing more recent developments in the banking realm as a theme for the next year's symposium.

See the entire KIF/KAEA/KAFA PROGRAM.

Professor Heejoon Kang, Business Economics and Public Policy, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405; (812) 855-9219, Fax: (812) 855-3354; kang@indiana.edu.

Submitted papers will be blind-reviewed by the referees. Please indicate whether you would be willing to serve as a discussant if your paper is accepted for presentation.

Submission deadline: February 28, 2007.

To submit a paper, one has to be (or become) a lifetime KAEA member or has paid his/her annual membership dues for 2006 and 2007. When you submit your paper, please indicate clearly the name of the conference you are submitting to.

There are two back to back joint sessions this year. Session 172 is from 2:30 to 4:15 pm and Session 199 is from 4:30 to 6:15 pm, both on Monday, July 2. Papers for each session are

Session 172
Session Chair: Yong H. Kim, University of Cincinnati

Session 199
Session Chair: Young Sun Lee, Yonsei University

The registration fee for WEAI members is $145 and that for nonmembers is $215. Since the sessions are organized by the KAEA, you can register by paying $145, even if you are not a WEAI member. It applies to all KAEA and KEA members who attend the conference. However, the deadline for you to take advantage of this opportunity is April 15, 2007. Please contact Professor Heejoon Kang (kang@indiana.edu) if you are planning to attend the WEAI conference.

Both sessions were held on Monday, July 2 in Adams. Session 172 was from 2:30 to 4:15 pm and Session 199 from 4:30 to 6:15 pm. Each session had three papers.

Session 172 was chaired by Professor Yong H. Kim, President of Korea-America Economic Association.

The first paper, "The Implications of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement: A General Equilibrium Approach" by Renan Zhuang (North Dakota State University) and Won W. Koo (North Dakota State University) was presented by Professor Koo. The paper documents the nature and extent of trade liberalization between the United States and Korea and uses computable general equilibrium model to estimate the impact of the FTA, if implanted as negotiated, on a few sectors of the economy in several regions of the world as well as in the two countries.

The second paper, "Time Preference and Time Use: Do Smokers Exercise Less?" by Younghwan Song (Union College), was presented by the author. The paper first links the smoking behavior of individuals to their time preference and then shows that current smokers, who have higher time preference, spend more time watching television and eating and drinking but less time exercising and taking classes, compared to never smokers by using US survey data.

The third paper, "Nonlinear Phillips curve, NAIRU and monetary policy rules" by Hyeon-seung Huh (Yonsei University) and Namkyung Lee (Yonsei University), was presented by Ms. Lee. The paper analyzes U.S. data from 1954 to 2001 first to estimate the Phillips curve by using logistic smooth transition autoregression (LSTAR) specification and then to compute the implied NAIRU (non-accelerating inflation rate unemployment) rate and to suggest some optimal monetary policy rules.

Session 199 was chaired by Professor Hyeon-seung Huh, Secretary of Korea Economic Association.

The first paper, "Shrinking Middle Class and Income Distribution of Korea: 1995-2005" by Joon-Woo Nahm (Sogang University), was presented by the author. The paper shows the middle class, defined by using several alternative measures for robustness, has declined and households in this group moved into lower and upper class about equally. The paper reports detailed figures on year-to-year transition among the three income classes.

The second paper, "Industrial Policy and Rent-Seeking During the Developing Years in Korea" by Byung Hee Soh (Kookmin University), was presented by the author. The paper identifies and classifies various socio-economic-political environments from the First to the Sixth Republic and link the rent-seeking behavior of the political power to the supplier of corruption a la Shleifer and Vishny and to the types of bandits of Olson.

The third paper, "Gender Discrimination: The Self-Employed vs. Wage Earners" by Jin Hwa Jung (Seoul National University), Kang-Shik Choi (Yonsei University), and Eun-young Shim (Yonsei University), was presented by Ms. Shim. The paper analyzes 1998-2003 Korean Labor and Income Panel Survey for earnings differentials by gender for those who are either self-employed or wage earners after controlling various worker/job characteristics. After gender gaps are estimated, they are decomposed into productivity-related and customer-related (discriminatory) parts.

After each paper was formally discussed by the organizer, the presenters were given their opportunities to answer concerns and questions from the discussant and session participants.

The participants and friends of both KAE and KAEA were then invited to dinner at Shilla Restaurant. Thanks to the generous treat by the KAEA president, we enjoyed good Korean dishes and entertaining conversations.

P.S. Professor Yong H. Kim, President of KAEA, had more than good conference sessions and Korean dinner. After dinner, unbeknownst to all but a couple of dinner guests, while others strolled back to the conference hotel, he went to the Virginia Mason Hospital emergency room for his chest pain and subsequently had EKG, stress test, angiogram, and ultimately an endovascular stent surgery. He did not leave his heart in Seattle; he instead took an artery supporting device from this beautiful city.

See the previous newsletter for the list of all participants.

Submission: Submit your completed paper with an abstract of 200-400 words, including the JEL code, by e-mail to Vice President Sunwoong Kim (kim@uwm.edu). Only completed papers will be considered.

Three papers will be selected for the conference and the selected paper presenters will receive financial support of around $6,000 each. Each paper presenter will be requested to contribute $1,000 to KAEA upon receiving the $6,000 from the Bank of Korea. Submitted papers will be reviewed by the referees selected by both the BOK and the KAEA.

Submission deadline: April 30, 2007

To submit a paper, one has to be (or become) a lifetime KAEA member or has paid his/her annual membership dues for 2006 and 2007. When you submit your paper, please indicate clearly the name of the conference you are submitting to.

The 4th BOK/KAEA conference was held on July 6, 2007 at the BOK Main Conference Room, Bank of Korea, Seoul, Korea. Dr. Kyung-Soo Kim, the BOK Assistant Governor and the Director General of the Institute for Monetary and Economic Research of BOK, welcomed the KAEA members and paper presenters and promised to continue cooperation with the KAEA in joint research and conference in the future. Prof. Joon Park, President-Elect of KAEA, also attended the conference.

Three papers were presented by two KAEA members, Prof. Tae-Hwy Lee and Dr. Jinill Kim, and one BOK member, Dr. Byoung Hark Yoo. Prof. Lee examined how one can use information in the entire yield curve to improve forecasts of output growth and inflation. Dr. Kim's paper studied Tobin's proposition that inflation greases the wheels of the labor market. Dr. Yoo proposed a new money demand function in a New Keynesian model where money demand depends not only on output and interest rates but also on house prices.

After the conference, the dinner was hosted by Dr. Yang Woo Kim, the Senior Deputy Director General of the Institute of Monetary and Economic Research of BOK.

See the entire BOK/KAEA PROGRAM.

Submission: Submit your completed paper with an abstract of 200-400 words, including the JEL code, by e-mail to Vice President Sunwoong Kim (kim@uwm.edu). Only completed papers will be considered. Submitted papers will be reviewed by the referees selected by both the KDI and the KAEA.

Submission Deadline: April 30, 2007

To submit a paper, one has to be (or become) a lifetime KAEA member or has paid his/her annual membership dues for 2006 and 2007. When you submit your paper, please indicate clearly the name of the conference you are submitting to.

The preliminary program of the KDI/KAEA conference has the following memebers who will present their papers:

See the entire KDI/KAEA PROGRAM.

The 5th KDI-KAEA Conference was held on July 9th at the KDI Main conference Hall. The title of the conference was "Enhancing Productivity and Sustaining Growth," and there were six sessions on the topics of Issues of Productivity Growth, Economic Integration and FTA, Foreign Ownership and Firm Size and Corporate Performance, Macroeconomic Issues, Tax Reform, and Financial Market Issues. Seven members of the KAEA made presentations, while two members originally in the program were not able to join the conference due to personal reasons.

Dr. Shim Sang Dal at the KDI emphasized that this year's conference has a particular meaning because as of 2006 Korea Development Review has been listed at the Korea Research Foundation, a national organization dedicated to social and scientific development through the promotion of scientific research. Selected papers presented at the conference will be published at this journal. President Hyun of the KDI hosted a nice reception and lunch for the participants.

See the entire KDI/KAEA PROGRAM.

The annual meeting of the Southern Economic Association will be held in New Orleans, LA, at the New Orleans Marriott, November 19-21, 2007 (Monday to Wednesday). KAEA has scheduled two sessions. KAEA members who are interested in presenting a paper or in discussing a paper are requested to inform Professor Semoon Chang (schang@usouthal.edu) of their intentions with paper topic by no later than March 1, 2007. Papers presented at the SEA sessions are usually related to Korea, North Korea, or the East Asian region although general topics are also considered. There are no submission fees. However, participants in any KAEA-sponsored events must have paid membership dues for the current year and the last year, or a lifetime membership.

Professor Semoon Chang asks:

Professor Semoon Chang has organized two sessions at the Southern Economic Association meeting in New Orleans. The two sessions are:

Monday 8:00 - 9:45 a.m. KAEA Session 16A
Issues on the South Korean Economy

Session Chair: James M. Lister, Korea Economic Institute

Presenters and Discussants:

Inchul Kim, Sung Kyun Kwan University, "The Convergence of Currency Regimes in East Asia"
Discussant: Sung Y. Kwack, Howard University

Sung Y. Kwack, Howard University, Young Sun Lee, Yonsei University, Heeseon Choi, Korea Institute of Technology and Trade, "Gender Earning Gaps and Return to Schooling in Korea"
Discussant: Yong J. Yoon, George Mason University

Bun Song Lee, Northwestern State University, Young Hyun Kim, Daegu and Kyungbuk Development Institute, Sun Eae Chun, Chung-Ang University, "An Analysis of the Effects of Korean Governmen's Housing Policies on Prices of Apartments in Seoul: A Hedonic Price Index Approach"
Discussant: Yoonbai Kim, University of Kentucky

Yong J. Yoon, George Mason University, ""Publicness and Smith's Extent of the Market Theorem"
Discussant: Bun Song Lee, Northwestern State University

Monday 10:00 - 11:45 a.m. KAEA Session 16B
Issues on the North Korean Economy

Session Chair: James M. Lister, Korea Economic Institute

Presenters and Discussants:

Youn Suk Kim, Kean University, "Prospects for the North Korean Economy"
Discussant: Semoon Chang, University of South Alabama

Yong J. Yoon, George Mason University, "Human Disaster in the Maximalist State"
Discussant: Youn Suk Kim, Kean University

Semoon Chang, University of South Alabama, "Patterns of North Korea?s Global Trade"
Discussant: Sun Eae Chun, Chung-Ang University

Patara Thumrongvit, University of Kentucky, Yoonbai Kim, University of Kentucky, "Financial Development and Economic Growth"
Discussant: Inchul Kim, Sung Kyun Kwan University

The two KAEA sessions at the SEA conference were well attended. Mr. Lister of KEI did an excellent work in charing the two sessions. We had a several attendees from Sungkyunkwan University. Professor Kim In-Chul from Korea and Professor Kim Youn Suk of New Jersey came to New Orleans only to attend our sessions. We had a Dutch-treat dinner in the evening. Next year, Dr. Yoon promised to bring Professor Buchanan to KAEA session.

Professor Semoon Chang has organized two sessions at the Southern Economic Association meeting in New Orleans. The two sessions are:

Monday 8:00 - 9:45 a.m. KAEA Session 16A
Issues on the South Korean Economy

Session Chair: James M. Lister, Korea Economic Institute

Presenters and Discussants:

Inchul Kim, Sung Kyun Kwan University, "The Convergence of Currency Regimes in East Asia"
Discussant: Sung Y. Kwack, Howard University

Sung Y. Kwack, Howard University, Young Sun Lee, Yonsei University, Heeseon Choi, Korea Institute of Technology and Trade, "Gender Earning Gaps and Return to Schooling in Korea"
Discussant: Yong J. Yoon, George Mason University

Bun Song Lee, Northwestern State University, Young Hyun Kim, Daegu and Kyungbuk Development Institute, Sun Eae Chun, Chung-Ang University, "An Analysis of the Effects of Korean Governmen's Housing Policies on Prices of Apartments in Seoul: A Hedonic Price Index Approach"
Discussant: Yoonbai Kim, University of Kentucky

Yong J. Yoon, George Mason University, ""Publicness and Smith's Extent of the Market Theorem"
Discussant: Bun Song Lee, Northwestern State University

Monday 10:00 - 11:45 a.m. KAEA Session 16B
Issues on the North Korean Economy

Session Chair: James M. Lister, Korea Economic Institute

Presenters and Discussants:

Youn Suk Kim, Kean University, "Prospects for the North Korean Economy"
Discussant: Semoon Chang, University of South Alabama

Yong J. Yoon, George Mason University, "Human Disaster in the Maximalist State"
Discussant: Youn Suk Kim, Kean University

Semoon Chang, University of South Alabama, "Patterns of North Korea?s Global Trade"
Discussant: Sun Eae Chun, Chung-Ang University

Patara Thumrongvit, University of Kentucky, Yoonbai Kim, University of Kentucky, "Financial Development and Economic Growth"
Discussant: Inchul Kim, Sung Kyun Kwan University

Guidelines for Paper Submission: Abstract of 200-400 words (and a completed paper if available) should be submitted by e-mail only to Sunghyun.kim@tufts.edu.

Submission deadline: April 30, 2007

To submit a paper, one has to be (or become) a lifetime KAEA member or has paid his/her annual membership dues for 2006 and 2007. When you submit your paper, please indicate clearly the name of the conference you are submitting to.

The annual meeting of KAEA will be held in New Orleans on January 4-6, 2008. You can see the preliminary program at ASSA/KAEA Program. Detailed information about the Business Meeting and Panel discussion will be added as soon as it beomes available, which will be either late November or early December. But, notice the time for each event and adjust your travel plan if you wish to participate.

This year's AB/EC meeting will be held on Jaunuary 3 (Thursday) from 5:30-8:30. All incoming and outgoing EC members and AB members are asked to participate. As in the past two years, the Maekyung-KAEA forum will follow the AB/EC meeting from 8:30-10:30 in the same room.

The annual meeting of KAEA will be held in New Orleans on January 4-6, 2008. You can see the program at ASSA/KAEA Program. The KAEA invites all members to the dinner reception on Saturday and to the breakfast on Sunday.

Papers that will be presented at the Panel Discussion on Korean Economy on Sunday, January 6, are linked below: