How technological change, workplace systems, and organizational capabilities shape labor outcomes and inequality.
I examine how technological change—particularly automation, smartification, and AI adoption—reshapes labor demand, workplace well-being, and the structure of employment. My work combines empirical research and policy evaluation to understand how firms adapt, who bears the costs of change, and how public intervention can shape more equitable outcomes.
📄 Academic Research
Representative Works:
- 🛠️ ”How will automation reshape worker well-being? Evidence from a highly automated economy,” R&R at Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 2025 👥 Olivia Hye Kim, Hwanwoong Lee
- 🛠️ ”Who Works from Home in Korea?” 👥 Sehoon Kim, Jiye Kang, Haeun Kim, Olivia Hye Kim, Seolyeon Moon, Hyuk An, Soomin Lim, and Jisu Jung
- Unions and Automation Risk: Who Bears the Cost of Automation?, B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 23(3): 843-851, 2023. 👥 Olivia Hye Kim
📊 Policy Research
Representative Works:
- 🇰🇷 Program Evaluation: Smart Factory, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, 2021 👥 Taewoo Chang
- 🇰🇷 Smart Factories: Economic Impacts and Policy Implications, KDI, 2019. 🔗 [link] [English summary] 👥 Minho Kim, Sunghoon Chung
→ Drawing on my policy research findings, I evaluated the efficiency and effectiveness of the “Smart Factory” subsidy program and recommended a strategic shift—from supporting a large number of factories to prioritizing the diffusion of best practices.
Smart Policies, for Smart Factories
KDI looked into smart factories which are at the center of manufacturing innovation. How does a factory become ‘smart?’, and does it affect jobs? ● Author - Minho Kim, Fellow at KDI - Sunghoon Chung, Fellow at KDI - Changkeun Lee, Professor at Yonsei University ● Go to related report - Smart Policies for Smart Factories (https://bit.ly/2KONswu) ● KDI Website - http://www.kdi.re.kr/kdi_eng/main/
youtu.be
→ While advancing intelligent and connected factories has been a top policy priority in Korea since the mid-2010s, concerns about potential job losses have also emerged. I investigated how the employment effects of smartification may differ from those of automation.