research

Under Review:

1. Protectionism Reconsidered: Economic Insecurity and the Gender Gap in Trade Attitudes
   Abstract

   Labor market institutions, especially discriminatory practices, shape how individuals form trade attitudes by structuring their exposure to wage and employment risks. However, existing studies emphasizing class, industry, firms, and occupation rarely consider discrimination as an institutional source of vulnerability. I argue that discriminatory labor-market practices create distinct economic risks for women. Women face not only the economic risks of trade liberalization but also discrimination that limits their access to trade’s benefits while elevating job-loss risk and slowing wage recovery. These gendered labor-market conditions activate gender identity, leading women to form trade attitudes based on both national and gender-group concerns. Men, who do not face gender-based disadvantages, rely primarily on national economic concerns. Evidence from a U.S. survey experiment shows that information emphasizing gender equality reduces women’s protectionism by strengthening an empowered gender identity, whereas information highlighting trade shocks increases protectionist attitudes across genders by heightening national economic concerns.

2. Beyond Paternalism: How Leadership Diversity Shapes Foreign Aid Perceptions in South Africa (with Simone Dietrich, Rikio Inouye)
   Abstract

   This paper examines how the racial and gender composition of donor leadership shapes public opinion in recipient countries. Focusing on South Africa, we explore whether the inclusion of women and Black individuals in U.S. foreign aid leadership influences perceptions of aid programs. Given the legacy of neocolonialism in foreign assistance, we argue that such non-traditional leadership signals a break from paternalistic models, enhancing perceived alignment with recipient needs. Using a two-wave survey experiment conducted in South Africa in 2024, we manipulate the race and gender composition of U.S. aid leaders. We find that both descriptive representation and greater inclusion of marginalized groups improve favorability toward U.S. leadership, especially among women and Black respondents. However, the effects weaken among individuals with sexist attitudes. Our findings highlight how non-traditional leadership can enhance perceived responsiveness, contributing to broader debates on aid effectiveness, international legitimacy, and the intersectional politics of foreign policy institutions.

3. Saving His Job, Not Hers: Selective Protection in Automation-Driven Job Loss (with Jae-wook Lee)
   Abstract

   Recent advances in automation have raised concerns about job insecurity, potentially increasing support for social policies. While existing research links policy preferences to individuals’ economic vulnerability, the role of identity—particularly gender—remains underexplored. We argue that automation-driven layoffs do not universally increase support for social protection; rather, their effects are shaped by gender norms. Using a survey experiment in South Korea, we show that automation-driven job loss increases support for an ex-ante protective measure (e.g., Automation Tax) only when male workers are affected. This selective protection reflects the male-breadwinner model, which views male labor as more essential to household income and male job loss as more socially disruptive. The disparity in social policy preferences by laid-off's gender profile is pronounced among individuals who hold sexist attitudes. Our findings reveal how gendered beliefs about labor value shape social protection preferences, highlighting identity-based biases in responses to economic change.

4. Who Gets Protection from Protectionism? Evidence from the Buy American Act (with Kyuwon Lee, Hye Young You)
   Abstract

   Contemporary protectionist policies are often initiated by national executives, yet their enforcement may vary across firms. We argue that this unevenness arises because legislators' institutional leverage and local ties shield politically connected firms from protectionist measures. We test this claim using the Trump administration’s Buy American Act (BAA), which penalized firms reliant on foreign—especially Chinese—suppliers in procurement. Combining firm-level data on federal contracts, supply chains, and campaign contributions, we analyze 2,053 firms from 2015–2019. A difference-in-differences design shows that the BAA significantly reduced contracts for firms previously reliant on Chinese suppliers, but only among politically inactive firms in districts represented by less powerful House members or those lacking strong local ties. We also find that only less-protected firms adjusted suppliers after the BAA. These results reveal how congressional influence shapes the implementation and distributional consequences of executive-led protectionism, challenging the view of presidential dominance in trade policymaking.

5. A Family Production Theory of Political Cleavages over Globalization and Welfare (with Thomas F. Flaherty)
   Abstract

   Dominant approaches to globalization politics emphasize individual characteristics without accounting for families. We develop a theory that incorporates intra-family risk sharing into the Ricardo-Viner trade model, showing how economic shocks diffuse through family ties to shape political cleavages. Linking U.S. General Social Survey data with trade data, we examine how voters’ opinions respond when their family members are exposed to exogenous variation in import shocks from Mexico. Rising exposure through family members significantly increases respondents' support for a variety of globalization barriers and welfare compensation, independently of their own industry exposure. Our analysis also corroborates the theory's gendered implications. Because of gendered specialization within families, backlash against globalization is primarily driven by males, while welfare responses are concentrated among females. The results are robust to pre-treatment trends, placebo policy preferences, and voting behaviors. Our study highlights the importance of moving beyond individual characteristics to understand political cleavages over economic policy.

Selected Working Papers:

1. How Firms Prioritize the Diffusion of Environmental, Social, and Governance Norms in Supply Chains


2. Wages Over Workers’ Power: The Diffusion of Labor Norms in Supply Chains


3. Chains of Lobbying: How Sustainability Risks in Supply Chains Affect Corporate Political Activities (with Hyunjoo Oh)


4. Insecurity and Attitudes toward Globalization: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa (with Sarah Brooks)


5. Firms as Catalysts: How Firms Drive the Diffusion of Green Bond Markets (with Monica Widmann)