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Sunghee Choi

 

 

University Address:                                                           Home Address:

Department of Economics                                                 272 N. Carnegie Ave. Apt #150

Claremont Graduate University                                         Claremont, CA 91711

160 E. Tenth Street, Claremont, CA 91711                        Phone: (909) 445-0013

E-mail: sunghee.choi@cgu.edu                                          Fax: (909) 445-1980

Homepage: http://grad.cgu.edu/~choisu/sunghee.htm                                                          

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Candidate, Economics, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont Colleges, (Degree Expected at the Fall Semester 2004)

M.A., Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000

B.A. Economics, Kyung-Hee University, South Korea, 1997

FIELDS

Major: Finance, Industrial Organization, Applied Econometrics

Minor: Labor and Empirical Microeconomics

DISSERTATION

Title: ¡°Foreign Risk Exposure of U.S. Multinational Firms: Firm- and Industry-Level Analysis with
Region-Specific Datasets¡±

Committee: Professors Arthur T. Denzau (Chair), Paul J. Zak, and Darren Filson

HONORS AWARDED

Department Fellowship, Claremont Graduate University, Fall 2000 ¨C Spring 2003

Department Assistantship, Claremont Graduate University, Fall 2000 ¨C present

Travel Grant, Claremont Graduate University, Spring 2003 ¨C Spring 2004  

Department Assistantship (joint with Tuition Waiver), University of Missouri-Columbia,
Spring 1999 ¨C Spring 2000

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

¡ö SAS Programming

Research Assistant to Prof. Jennifer Ward-Batts, Department of Economics, Claremont McKenna College, Fall 2001 to Present

- Task: Analysis on the U.K. Household Expenditure Patterns after the Policy Change in the U.K. Child Benefit Scheme in the late 1970¡¯s

Research Assistant to Prof. Peter Mueser, Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, Spring 1999 ¨C Spring 2000

- Task: Analysis on the AFDC Caseload and the Recipients¡¯ Socioeconomic Status in Missouri, 1990 ¨C 1999

¡ö Literature and Data Survey

Research Assistant to Prof. Arthur Denzau, Department of Economics, Claremont Graduate University, Summer 2002

Research Assistant to Prof. Paul Zak, Department of Economics, Claremont Graduate University, Fall 2000 ¨C Spring 2001

TEACHING ELIGIBILITY

Certificate of Excellence in Teaching, Language, and Pedagogy for International Teaching Assistants, University of Missouri-Columbia, Spring 1999

INVITED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

The 30th Annual Meeting of Eastern Economic Association, Washington D.C., 2004

The 56th Annual Meeting of New York State Economic Association, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2003

The 2nd Annual Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences, Honolulu, 2003

The School of Politics and Economics Graduate Students Conference, Claremont Graduate University, 2002

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

¡ö Referee Service

Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences, 2004

¡ö Discussant Service

International Industrial Organization Conf., Northwestern University, 2004

Eastern Economic Association Conf., Washington D.C., 2004

N.Y. State Economic Association Conf., Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 2003

¡ö Affiliation Member

American Economic Association, American Finance Association, Eastern Economic Association, New York State Economic Association 

WORKING PAPERS

Foreign Exposure of U.S. Multinational Firms and its Determinants: Evidence from Region-Specific Datasets (with A. Denzau)

Industrial Structure and Foreign Exposure of Industry Portfolio 

AFDC Recipients¡¯ Socioeconomic Characteristics and Post-AFDC Wage

WORK IN PROGRESS

The Impact of Interest Rate Movements on Firms in the Banking and Financial Industry

COMPUTER SKILL

SAS, RATS, LIMDEP, GAUSS

NON-ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

Treasurer, Korean Students Association, Department of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia, Fall 1999 ¨C Spring 2000

Composition Award, the 11th Annual Music Festival of Kwangwoon University, 1993

Student Journalist, Official Newspaper of Kyung-Hee University, 1992 ¨C 1993

Artillerist, National Military of Republic of Korea, 1993 ¨C 1994

REFERENCES

Arthur T. Denzau                                            Paul J. Zak

Professor                                                        Dept. Chair and Associate Professor

Department of Economics                               Department of Economics

Claremont Graduate University                      Claremont Graduate University

160 E. Tenth Street                                        160 E. Tenth Street

Claremont, CA 91711                                     Claremont, CA 91711

(909) 621-8692                                              (909) 621-8788

arthur.denzau@cgu.edu                                 paul.zak@cgu.edu

 

Darren Filson                                                  Jennifer L. Ward-Batts

Associate Professor                                        Assistant Professor

Department of Economics                               Department of Economics

Claremont Graduate University                      Claremont McKenna College

160 E. Tenth Street                                        Bauer Center, 500 E. Ninth Street

Claremont, CA 91711                                     Claremont, CA 91711

(909) 621-88782                                            (909) 607-2800

darren.filson@cgu.edu                                    jennifer.ward-batts@claremontmckenna.edu

 

Peter R. Mueser

Associate Professor

Department of Economics

University of Missouri

331 Professional Building

Columbia, MO 65211

(573) 882-6427

MueserP@missouri.edu 

Doctoral Thesis Abstract

Foreign Risk Exposure of U.S. Multinational Firms:

Firm- and Industry-Level Analysis with Region-Specific Datasets

 

Abstract

 

This dissertation examines the impact of foreign exchange rate movements on the value of multinational firms. First, in order to provide a theoretical framework on the foreign exposure mechanism and determinants, I employ a standard profit-maximizing model for two types of firms: ones with domestic operations only and the others with both domestic and foreign operations. This theoretical analysis results that (1) exchange rate movements affect the value of both firms and (2) the determinants of foreign risk exposure are firm-specific factors, such as sales and assets, and the industry-specific factor, such as the price elasticity of market demand. 

As the next step, this dissertation empirically evaluates the theory. Considering the problems causing most previous studies fail to find a significant exposure, I examine U.S. multinational firms that had Asian and Mexican operations during the ¡°fast and furious¡± [1] Asian and Mexican crisis. Based on the hypothesis that the unexpectedly greater fluctuations in the foreign currencies during the crises would mitigate effectiveness of the firms¡¯ risk management for the currencies, I find that the sample firms are more likely to be exposed during the crises. Also, by decomposing exposures into firm-specific factors, I find that the sample firms are more exposed as they have more sales and assets in the areas and when they have smaller number of employees or are affiliated with one or two industries. These results are consistent with the optimal hedging theory in terms of economies of scale in hedging activities.

Finally, in addition to the firm-level analysis, I analyze industry-level foreign exposure, which sheds light on the importance of industry-specific effects for exposure. By segregating the firms into industrial groups, I find that foreign exposures of the two-digit SICs differ from each other, and the manufacturing industry is more exposed than any other due to their greater foreign trade. Also, for industries within manufacturing, I find that durable goods, non-intermediate goods, and competitive-structure industry are more exposed than non-durable, intermediate goods, and non-competitive industry, respectively.



[1] This term is originally from the article, Kamisky et al, ¡°The Unholy Trinity of Financial Contagion,¡± Journal of Economic Perspectives, Fall 2003

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