Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Korea University
Jong-Wha Lee is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Economics and Director of the Center for Demography and Innovation at Korea University. He recently served as Dean of the College of Political Science and Economics and Dean of the Graduate School of Policy Studies at Korea University. He also previously served as the president of the Korea Economic Association and the president for the Korea International Economic Association.
He previously served as Chief Economist and Director General of the Economics and Research Department at the Asian Development Bank and worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund. He also served as Senior Adviser for International Economic Affairs to the former President of South Korea and as the country's G20 sherpa. He has taught at Australian National University, Harvard University, Columbia University, and Peking University and served as a consultant to the Harvard Institute for International Development, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank.
Lee has written and published extensively on topics relating to human capital, growth, financial crises, and economic integration in leading academic journals such as American Economic Review, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Economic Growth, and Review of Economics and Statistics. His most recent books include Is this the Asian Century? (World Scientific, 2017), Crisis and Recovery: Learning from the Asian Experience (World Scientific, 2016), and Education Matters: Global Schooling Gains from the 19th to the 21st Century with Robert J. Barro (Oxford University Press, 2015). He was awarded Korean National Academy of Sciences Award, Kyung-Ahm Prize, Inchon Award, Cheongram Prize, Maekyung Economist Award, and Dasan Economics Award. He is a regular columnist for Project Syndicate.
A citizen of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Lee obtained his Ph.D. and Master’s degree in Economics from Harvard University, and his Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in economics from Korea University in Seoul.
<Selected publications>
•Educational quality and disparities in income and growth across countries," (with H. Lee), forthcoming, Journal of Economic Growth, 2024.
•"Wage structure and gender earnings differentials in China and India," (with D. Wie), World Development, 2017.
•"Human capital in the long run," (with Hanol Lee), Journal of Development Economics, 2016.
•Education Matters: Global Schooling Gains from the 19th to the 21st Century, (with R. Barro), Oxford University Press, 2015.
•A New Data Set of Educational Attainment in the World, 1950–2010," (with R. Barro), Journal of Development Economics, 104, 2013.
•"IMF programs: Who is chosen and what are the effects?," (with R. Barro), Journal of Monetary Economics 52.7, 2005: 1245-1269.
•"How Does Foreign Direct Investment Affect Economic Growth?" (with E. Borensztein and J. De Gregorio), Journal of International Economics, 1998.
•"Trade barriers and trade flows across countries and industries," (with P. Swagel), Review of Economics and Statistics, 79(3), 1997.
•"International Measures of Schooling Years and Schooling Quality," (with R. Barro), American Economic Review, 1996.
•"Capital goods imports and long run growth," Journal of Development Economics, 1995.
Barro-Lee Data Set of Education Attainment: Barro-Lee Website
Member of Editorial Board, Japan and the World Economy
Associate Editor, Asian Economic Policy Review
Columnist, Project Syndicate
Jong-Wha Lee's publication at IDEAS
My Citations at Google Scholar.
My Facebook page at Facebook.