- KIEP presents 2018 EAER Best Paper of the Year to Dr. Seojin Lee (Korea Energy Economics Institute) for the first prize.

  The Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) has selected “Economic Policy Uncertainty in the US: Does It Matter for Korea?”, authored by Dr. Seojin Lee (Korea Energy Economics Institute) as the first prize winner of the 2018 EAER Best Paper of the Year awards. The award ceremony was held on 20th March, 2019 at the president’s office of KIEP.

  Utilizing the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index (EPU), this paper examines whether the EPU in other countries affect the EPU in Korea and shows that the United States EPU is an important factor in understanding the exchange rate volatility in Korea. This paper is a timely study in that it utilizes and analyzes the EPU index, which has recently come under attention in many other studies. The paper is also creative in the sense that it examines the relation between foreign EPU and domestic EPU in Korea and investigates whether the United States EPU is a key factor for the Korean exchange rate risk. Finally, the paper makes significant academic contributions and offers important policy implications by applying the EPU to the currency market.

  The 2018 Best Paper Selection Committee, composed of six members, applied four criteria of excellence for selection: academic contribution, research originality, logical clarity, and policy implications. Following careful deliberation throughout the selection process, the Committee selected Seojin Lee’s paper for the first prize. Second prizes were awarded to “Gravity with Intermediate Goods Trade” by Sujin Jang and E. Young Song of Sogang University, and “Dissecting Gains from Trade: Changes in Welfare Cost of Autarky” by Paras Kharel of SAWTEE.

  As a quarterly journal published by KIEP, the East Asian Economic Review (EAER) annually selects and announces winners of its Best Paper awards, with the purpose of establishing strong theoretical foundations for policy research and facilitating interdisciplinary research in the field of international economics and regional economic studies.