"It's a terrible thing to be a worker exploited in the capitalist system. The only worse thing is to be a worker unable to find anyone to exploit you." - Joan Robinson

Yongjin Park
Assistant Professor of Economics

• Microeconomics and Behavioral Economics
• Banking and Comparative Banking Systems
• Social Inequality and Labor Supply

"Economics and the history of economic policies are filled with ironies, just like the remark by Joan Robinson. Many seemingly fair and egalitarian policies (like what North Korea pursued in the1950's and 60's) fail, while other non-democratic, unfair policies (what South Korea followed) produce somewhat better results in many ways," states Yongjin Park. "My goal as an economist from Korea is to understand why some policies with good intentions fail, and try to come up with a well-designed set of policies based on a better understanding of how the economic system works."

Yongjin Park's short-term research interest is to understand and explain the social inequalities, especially income inequality and disadvantages of the poor, in a credit market. Topics of his papers vary from the effect of income inequality on workers' labor supply decisions (Emulation, Inequality and Work Hours) to a role of wealth in a credit market that may lead financial intermediaries to prefer wealthy borrowers (Exogenous Shocks and a Role of Wealth in the Credit Market) and whether relationship banking can alleviate the problem (Social Benefits of Relationship Banking).

Yongjin Park teaches the following: Core courses: Introductory Microeconomics, Intermediate Microeconomics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, Econometrics I; Upper-level courses: Comparative Financial Systems, and Corporate Finance.

Yongjin Park lives on campus with his wife and young daughter.

View the Department of Economics website.