The annual joint conference of KDI and KAEA was held in Seoul on August 7, 2009. Under the theme of Financial Crisis, Recovery and Sustaining Growth, which was timely and relevant to the issues facing the Korean economy, a total of fifteen papers were presented and discussed including the four papers submitted and accepted through KAEA. These KAEA presenters were Kiseok Nam, Yongcheol Shin, Yong J. Yoon and Ky-hyang Yuhn who had been selected from the six submissions made to KAEA through the two separate reviews done by KAEA and KDI. The conference began with the welcoming remarks made by the KDI President Oh-Seok Hyun and the KAEA President Yoonbai Kim, and the keynote speech made by the Minister of Strategy and Finance Jeung-Hyun Yoon. The lunch keynote speaker was Yung Chul Park, and the conference concluded with the panel discussion in which a KAEA Advisory Board member Bong Soo Lee participated with the other six panel discussants invited by KDI. This conference? organizing committee chair was Sang Dal Shim at KDI, and his KAEA counterpart was Kwang Soo Cheong who also participated as a session chair. The conference went well with big turnout, and KDI and KAEA continued the tradition of successful collaborations. The attached program provides further details of the conference.

On Thursday May 28, 2009, a joint international conference titled " North Korea's Economy and Politics between Opening and Isolatio" was co-hosted by the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea (HSS) and the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at the Seoul National University (IPUS), with the partnership of the Korean American Economic Association (KAEA). The two organizers of the conference, Dr. Bernhard Seliger, Resident Representative of HSS and Park Myoung-Kyu, Director of IPUS, were able to pool a group of international experts together to discuss the economic perspectives of North Korea society and politics.

The conference was opened by the opening remarks of Park Myoung-Kyu and Dr. Bernhard Seliger, as well as Kim Shin-bok, Vice President of the Seoul National University, and Dr. Norbert Baas, German Ambassador in the Republic of Korea. Ambassador Baas was referring to the current difficult times and was specifically noting the role of academics, which think about the "unthinkable" to provide new and innovative solutions regarding this challenging time und uncertain direction of inter-Korean situation.

The first session of the conference was dedicated to the theme: "The Current Economic Crisis and Perspectives for Economic Reform in North Korea". Presentations were held by Yang Un-Chul, Sejong Institute, Park Kang-H., Southeast Missouri State University as well as Lim Ful-Chul, Institute for Far Eastern Studies.

The second session was dedicated to the theme: "Political and Historical Perspectives on North Korea's Development". Presentations were held by Kim Mikyoung, Hiroshima City University, Chang Semon, University of South Alabama as well as Kim Suk-Hi, University of Detroit Mercy.

After a short break Dr. Bernhard Seliger invited all panelists, discussants and the audience to a roundtable, to discuss open questions directly with experts. Dr. Yoonbai Kim, President of the KAEA, delivered closing remarks to end the conference.

The 84th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) was held June 29 - July 3, 2009 in Vancouver, BC Canada. The Korea-America Economic Association (KAEA) organized six academic sessions jointly with Korean Economic Association (KEA) at the WEAI conference: (1) Migration, Wages and Unions, (2) Seasonal Adjustment, Endogeneity, and Spatial Dominance, (3) Asset Market, (4) Regulations and Market Structure, (5) Macroeconomics and Growth, and (6) Research with Korean Data. The last session was assigned for Korean junior economists. We are very pleased to support future generations of Korean economists by providing graduate students opportunities to present their papers in one of the well-recognized international conferences and wish to continue this event.

The Institute of Monetary and Economic Research (IMER) at the Bank of Korea (BOK) and KEAEA teamed up and organized two joint sessions at the WEAI conference. Total of six papers were presented at two sessions by four KAEA members and two BOK members. The two joint sessions are (1) Global Financial Crisis and (2) Korean Economy and Financial Integration and Its Implication for Macroeconomy. Prof. Soyoung Kim (Korea University), Prof. Young-Kyu Moh (Texas Tech) and Dr. Hyun Jeong Kim (BOK) presented in the Global Financial Crisis session and Prof. Bongsoo Lee (Florida State University), Prof. Yoonbai Kim (University of Kentucky) and Dr. Jiho Lee (BOK) presented in the Korean Economy and Financial Integration and Its Implication for Macroeconomy session. The BOK/KAEA received great attention from many interested audiences and this success was an outcome of continued cooperation between BOK and KAEA in joint research and conferences.

A welcome dinner was held on the evening of July 1st hosted by the President of the KAEA, Professor Yoonbai Kim. Twenty five conference participants from KAEA, KEA and BOK attended the dinner and enjoyed great time.

The 2010 convention of the Applied Social Science Association will be held in Atlanta, GA, January 3-5, 2010. The KAEA will sponsor three sessions at this annual convention including one joint session with AEA. This joint session is already organized with invited papers. KAEA members are invited to submit papers for the other two sessions. Papers do not have to be on issues related with the Korean economy.

Guidelines for Paper Submission: Abstract of 200-400 words (and a completed paper if available) should be submitted by e-mail to Professor Cheong at kscheong@jhu.edu.

Submission deadline: May 31, 2009.

Submissions will be accepted only from the lifetime KAEA members or those who have paid the KAEA membership dues for both 2008 and 2009 prior to the paper submission.

The KAEA is organizing a joint conference with the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea Office and the Institute of Peace and Unification Affairs of Seoul National University. The conference, to be held in Seoul on May 28, 2009, aims at bringing together both academic and policy oriented papers on the North Korean economy, business, and other relevant topics. Completed papers should be submitted by e-mail to: Suk Hi Kim, University of Detroit Mercy, kimsuk@udmercy.edu.

1. Place of conference: Institute of Peace and Unification Affairs, Seoul National University.
2. Number of papers to be selected from KAEA members: Three.
3. Selected papers must be presented in English.
4. Paper presenters will receive an honorarium of up to 1,200 euros for a round trip airfare from the country of residence to Korea
5. Local accommodation for two nights will also be provided for conference participants.
6. Submission deadline: April 15, 2009
7. Submissions will be accepted only from the lifetime KAEA members or those who have paid the KAEA membership dues for both 2008 and 2009 prior to the paper submission.
8. The submission of a paper to this seminar constitutes a submission to the North Korean Review published by McFarland Company & Publishers, Inc. After the conference, selected papers will be automatically reviewed for possible publication in the spring 2010 issue of the Review.

The annual joint conference with the KDI will be held as a one-day conference on Friday, August 7. While the theme for this year’s conference is primarily focused on coping with the current financial crisis and beyond, papers dealing with general issues in macro finance, exchange rates, financial markets, fiscal stimulus, macro economy, and socio-economic policies in Korea are also welcome.

A submission will be accepted only if it is a complete paper with (i) an abstract of 300-400 words, (ii) 3-5 keywords, and (iii) JEL code(s) on the first pages. Please send your submission or inquiries to Vice President Kwang Soo Cheong at kscheong@jhu.edu. Submitted papers will be reviewed by the referees selected by the KAEA and the KDI.

Each paper presented at the conference will be awarded a travel support of KRW 2,000,000 by KDI. In case this amount fails to cover the economy-class airfare for this conference travel, the KDI will also reimburse the shortage amount. In addition, two nights accommodation will be provided to the paper presenters traveling from outside Seoul for this conference.

It should be noted that submitting a paper to this conference also constitutes a submission to the KDI Journal of Economic Policy published by KDI. Currently, this journal is in its final stage of the evaluation process for possible inclusion in the Social Sciences Citation Index. After the conference presentation, selected papers will automatically go through review process for possible publication in the journal. If requested, a period up to four weeks may be given to allow revising the paper to reflect the feedback received at the conference. Papers finally accepted for publication will be awarded a financial support of KRW 1,500,000 by KDI.

Submissions will be accepted only from the lifetime KAEA members or those who have paid the KAEA membership dues for both 2008 and 2009 prior to the paper submission.

The annual joint conference with the KIF and the KAFA will be held as a one-day conference on Tuesday, May 26. While the main theme for this year’s conference is the current financial crisis, papers dealing with general issues in macro-finance, financial/capital markets, and banking industry and regulations are also welcome. Each paper presented at the conference will be awarded a financial support of KRW 2,000,000 by KIF.

A submission will be accepted only if it is a complete paper with (i) an abstract of 300-400 words, (ii) 3-5 keywords, and (iii) JEL code(s) on the first pages. Please send your submission or inquiries to Vice President Kwang Soo Cheong at kscheong@jhu.edu. Submitted papers will be reviewed by the referees selected by the KAEA and the KIF.

Submissions will be accepted only from the lifetime KAEA members or those who have paid the KAEA membership dues for both 2008 and 2009 prior to the paper submission.

The 2009 annual meeting of the Southern Economic Association will be held in San Antonio (Texas) at the Marriott San Antonio Rivercenter, on November 21 (Saturday) to 23 (Monday). KAEA plans to host three sessions if there are enough quality papers;

All papers selected for the North Korea session will be considered for publication in the refereed journal, North Korean Review. KAEA members who wish to present a paper at the 2009 SEA meetings need to submit their paper abstracts or draft papers to Professor Semoon Chang at schang@usouthal.edu by March 1. Those who would like to serve as a discussant are also encouraged to email Professor Chang by March 1.

The 2009 convention of the Allied Social Science Association will be held in San Francisco, CA, January 3-5, 2009. The KAEA will sponsor three sessions at this annual convention including one joint session with AEA, and two sessions of contributed papers. The KAEA also organized threee workshops in which 10 papers will be presented.

In particular, this year's Maekyung forum (Sunday evening, 5:00-6:30) will present Professors Bob Shiller and Rick Mishkin (with last year's Maekyung award winner Hyun Song Shin as the moderator) who will discuss the "Recent Financial Market Turmoil." All KAEA members are encouraged to publicize this open-to-public event.

A new "KAEA Forum for Graduate Students" is organized to help Korean students in the job market. Professors Hyungsik Roger Moon (USC) and Sokbae Simon Lee (University College London), and Dr. Jae W. Sim (Federal Reserve Board) will offer "Tips for job market interviews."

The program can be seen by clicking on ASSA/KAEA PROGRAM.

The 84th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) will be held on June 29-July 3, 2009 at the Sheraton Wall Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Korea-America Economic Association (KAEA) plans to organize several sessions of this WEAI conference jointly with the Korean Economic Association (KEA).

Theoretical and empirical papers on all aspects of economics are invited. If interested, please submit by e-mail your completed paper or extended abstract including (i) the JEL code(s), (ii) 3-5 key words, and (iii) your membership status with the KEA or the KAEA to Professor Young-Kyu Moh at young-kyu.moh@ttu.edu. Submission deadline is March 15, 2009.

There is no submission fee for the qualified members of the KEA or the KAEA. In addition, the session participants can register at the WEAI member rate regardless of their membership status with the WEAI. However, all participants will be required to register for the conference and responsible for their own expenses.

Submitted papers will be blind-reviewed by the referees. All presenters are strongly urged to serve as discussants (and session chairs, if requested) for the WEAI-KAEA-KEA sessions.

Further information about the conference can be found at the conference website http://www.weainternational.org/conferences.htm.

The 84th Annual Conference of the Western Economic Association International (WEAI) will be held on June 29-July 3, 2009 at the Sheraton Wall Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The Institute of Monetary and Economic Research at the Bank of Korea (BOK) and the Korea-America Economic Association (KAEA) will hold joint sessions at the WEAI conference. We sincerely invite the members of the KAEA to join in this wonderful event.

The BOK-KAEA joint session titles and potential topics are:

Two papers will be selected for each session (for the total of four). Each presenter will receive financial support of $2,000 from the BOK.

Both empirical and theoretical papers are welcome. Please note that the BOK will not accept papers that are already published elsewhere and the selected papers will be published as BOK working papers. If interested, please submit by e-mail your completed paper with an abstract of 200-400 words including (i) the JEL code(s), (ii) 3-5 key words, and (iii) your membership status with the KAEA to Professor Kwang Soo Cheong at kscheong@jhu.edu. When submitting a paper, please specify whether you are willing to be considered for regular KAEA sessions if the paper does not make the BOK-KAEA session. Submission deadline is March 15, 2009.

There is no submission fee for the qualified members of the KAEA. In addition, the session participants can register at the WEAI member rate regardless of their membership status with the WEAI. However, all participants will be required to register for the conference and responsible for their own expenses.

Submitted papers will be blind-reviewed by the referees selected by both the BOK and the KAEA. All presenters are strongly urged to serve as discussants (and session chairs, if requested) for the KAEA organized sessions.

Further information about the conference can be found at the conference website http://www.weainternational.org/conferences.htm.