Sungmee is an applied microeconomist specializing in education and health policy for K-12 students and young adults in the United States and South Korea. With a focus on closing the gap between diverse groups, Sungmee conducts quantitative research to integrate educational and health outcomes to inform policy decisions.
Her recent work provides a comprehensive analysis of gender differences in remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting trends and potential mechanisms behind disparities in academic performance throughout the period of school closures and the subsequent return to in-person learning. Her ongoing research includes examining the impact of the ACA Medicaid expansion on closing the “coverage gap” for low-income young adults and investigating how variations in primary learning modalities during the pandemic influenced trends in child maltreatment allegations and foster care placements.
Sungmee holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University, where she worked as a graduate research assistant at the Metro Atlanta Policy Lab for Education (MAPLE) of the Georgia Policy Labs.
