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Younghan Lee
Portrait of Younghan Lee

Website updated:

Research Assistant Professor

Younghan Lee

School of Business Administration / U Institute for Future Strategy, UNIST

  • Applied Microeconomics
  • Health Economics
  • Regional Economics
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Deep Learning

I conduct research in applied microeconomic analysis, leveraging advanced techniques in deep learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and simulations to explore the role of individual heterogeneity in economic behavior. My expertise includes developing Large Language Model (LLM) agent-based simulations to model complex economic systems, applying deep learning and computer vision for image analysis in economic research, and utilizing statistical learning methods such as Lasso regression and K-means clustering to analyze large-scale datasets.

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Research

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Under Review

  1. Adjusting for cost-of-living differences in regional measures of economic distress

    Bond-Smith, S., & Lee, Y.

    Under Review (Economic Development Quarterly)

Working Papers

  1. Decision Making of a Homo Silicus: Dating

    Lee, Y. & Lee, S. H.

  2. AI, AI, Who is the Fairest of Them All? Beauty Premium in Dating and Marriage among Celebrities

    Lee, Y. & Lee, S. H.

  3. Genetic Assortative Mating and Its Impact on Household Economics

    Lee, Y.

In Progress

    Project Participation

    1. Ulsan Industrial AX Research, Demonstration, and Diffusion Acceleration Project (U-AXCEL)

      Ulsan Metropolitan City · Participant · -

    2. Joint Research on “Energy × AI” Technology Development

      Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. · Participant · -

    3. Formulation of an Implementation Plan for a Ulsan-Specific Industrial AX Roadmap

      Ulsan Metropolitan City · Participant · -

    4. Demonstration of Industrial Domain-Specific Multimodal Hyperscale AI Services

      Institute of Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation · Participant · -

    5. Planning Study on the Establishment and Operation of the Ulsan Quantum Cluster

      Ulsan Metropolitan City · Participant · -

    6. Study on Foundational Measures for Establishing and Activating an R&D Management Support System

      National Research Foundation of Korea · Participant · -

    7. Preliminary Study on a Quantum Cluster for Mission-Oriented Quantum Transformation

      National Information Society Agency · Participant · -

    8. Consulting Support for Korea East-West Power’s Medium- and Long-Term AI Transformation (AX) Implementation Strategy

      Korea East-West Power Co., Ltd. · Participant · -

    Curriculum Vitae

    Download CV

    Education

    1. 2025.5

      Ph.D. in Economics

      University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

    2. 2017.8

      M.A. in Economics

      Seoul National University

    3. 2014.2

      B.A. in International Studies

      Kyung Hee University

    Employment

    1. 2026.3 - Present

      Research Assistant Professor

      School of Business Administration / U Institute for Future Strategy, UNIST

    2. 2025.8 - 2026.2

      Postdoctoral Researcher

      U Institute for Future Strategy, UNIST

    3. 2016.9 - 2017.6

      Economic Consultant, Dept. of International Trade

      Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)

    4. 2016.7 - 2016.8

      Intern, Dept. of International Trade

      KIEP

    5. 2015.9 - 2016.6

      Intern, Dept. of International Macroeconomics and Finance

      KIEP

    Honors & Awards

    1. Seiji Naya Outstanding Third-Year Paper Award

      Department of Economics, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

    2. Young Leaders Fellowship

      Northeast Asia Economic Forum (NEAEF)

    3. Second Prize, National Monetary Policy Competition

      Bank of Korea

    Grants & Scholarships

    1. Research Stipend

      University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa · 2025 Spring

    2. Burnham O. Campbell Fund

      University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa · 2019 Spring

    3. Hung Family Fellowship

      University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa · 2018 Fall - 2019 Spring

    4. Merit Scholarship

      University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa · 2017 Fall - 2018 Spring

    5. Full-tuition Scholarship

      Kyung Hee University · 2008 - 2013

    Technical Skills

    • Python
    • SAS
    • R

    Contact

    Get in touch

    Feel free to reach out for research collaborations, academic inquiries, or questions about my work.

    Address

    Bldg.114, 50 UNIST-gil, Ulju-gun, Ulsan, Republic of Korea