The Harris School of Public Policy and EPIC welcome Hyuk-soo Kwon, an expert in environmental and energy policy, to the faculty. Kwon began his new position as an assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy on July 1. He joins the Harris School after a year as a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR).
“Hyuk-soo Kwon is an incredibly promising researcher and we are thrilled to welcome him to the University of Chicago and EPIC communities that are helping to solve some of the most pressing energy and environmental challenges the world is faces,” says Michael Greenstone, the director of EPIC and the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics. “His research on the role of government incentives in the electric vehicle and battery industry importantly expands EPIC’s work on how policy, market, and environmental challenges intersect, as well as our breadth of research in the transportation sector.”
Kwon’s ongoing research focuses on designing policies to correct environmental externalities in the presence of inefficiencies such as imperfect competition, market frictions, and political constraints. He has a particular interest in the role of government incentives in the electric vehicle and battery industry. His study on attribute-based subsidies explores optimal policy design to address multiple market failures. Meanwhile, his research on tradable emission credits compares price- and quantity-based environmental policies in the presence of market power. He has also investigated learning dynamics in the global EV battery industry, assessing the role of government policies in shaping industry outcomes.
“I believe that one of the key roles an economist plays is to analyze and predict the unintended consequences of economic and environmental policies,” says Kwon. “I look forward to continuing this work with collaboration and support from my colleagues at Harris and EPIC.”
Kwon earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Cornell University in 2023 and his MA and BA in economics from Seoul National University. His work has been recognized with awards such as The Louis Walinsky Fund in Economics Outstanding Teaching Award and the L.R. Red Wilson MA ’67 Excellence in Economics Medal from Cornell University.