Faculty of Business Administration
SEMINAR SERIES No. 17/1415
Business Economics
Do Institutions affect social preferences: Evidence from divided Korea
Prof. Byung-Yeon Kim
Professor of Economics
Seoul National University, South Korea
Abstract
The division of Korea is a historic social experiment that randomly assigned ex ante identical individuals into two different economic and political institutions. About 70 years after the division, we sample Koreans who were born and raised in the two different parts of Korea to study whether institutions affect social preferences. We find that those from North Korea behave in a less self-interested manner and support the market economy and democracy less than those from South Korea. A follow-up study shows that social preferences did not change considerably in two years. Our findings indicate that preferences are rooted in institutions.
Date: February 12, 2015 (Thursday)
Time: 16:00~17:30
Venue: Faculty of Business Administration, E22-2015
A Short Biography of Prof. Kim
Prof. Kim serves as Professor of Economics, Seoul National University (SNU). He is also Director of Brain Korea 21 Plus Program, and Vice Director of Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at SNU. He had previously taught at Essex University and Sogang University before he joined SNU in 2006. His research interests include transition economics, North Korean economy, and Applied Econometrics. His recent works have been published in journals such as Journal of Comparative Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Economics of Transition, and China Economic Review.
Prof. Kim got his B.A. (Economics) & M.A. (Economics) in SNU, and D. Phil in Economics in University of Oxford, U.K.
