Profile

Robert Rudolf is a professor in the College of International Studies at Korea University. He currently also serves as the Deputy Vice President for International Affairs of Korea University. Trained as an economist, his research usually crosses the boundaries between various disciplines including economics, sociology, psychology, and international studies. His research interest are in the fields of economic and human development, gender, quality of life, and education. In the past, Robert has been a visiting fellow at research institutes and INGOs in Santiago de Chile, Singapore, Mexico City, and Berlin. His research has been published in international journals such as World Development, Food Policy, Feminist Economics, and the Journal of Happiness Studies, among others. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank and as a member of the academic advisory committee for the design of Korea's National Child & Adolescent Well-being Indicator System. Robert has been awarded research grants from the Korea Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service, the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

 

Links

Korea University

College of International Studies & Graduate School of International Studies

Education

2011     PhD in Economics, University of Göttingen, Germany

2007     Diplom in International Economics, University of Tübingen, Germany

 

Professional Experience

2022 - present    Professor, College of International Studies, Korea University

2023 - present    Deputy Vice President for International Affairs, Korea University

2021 - 2022        Consultant, The World Bank

2018                    Visiting Scholar, Centre for Rural Development, Humboldt University of Berlin

2012 - 2017        Assistant Professor, Division of International Studies, Korea University

2007 - 2012        PhD-level Researcher, Development Economics Research Group, University of Göttingen

Research Interests

Development studies, Gender, Quality of life, Education, East Asia, Africa

 

I am interested in people's quality of life along the path of economic and human development. In this context, I am working on the following research avenues:

1) Gender gaps in employment, earnings, and subjective well-being (with applications for South Korea and MENA countries).

2) Education, gender, and subjective well-being of children and adolescents (with applications for Sub-Saharan Africa, South Korea, and global cross-country samples)

4) Economic impacts of migration (with applications for Chinese co-ethnic networks)

 

 

Publications in International Peer-Reviewed Journals

17. Rudolf, R., Wang, S., & F. Wu (2023). The Arab Spring, A Setback for Gender Equality? Evidence from the Gallup World Poll. Journal of Asian Economics, 84, p. 101578. [SSCI]

16. Rudolf, R., & Lee, J. (2023). School climate, academic performance, and adolescent well-being in Korea: The roles of competition and cooperation. Child Indicators Research. [SSCI]

15. Rudolf, R., & Bethmann, D. (2022). The paradox of wealthy nations' low adolescent life satisfaction. Journal of Happiness Studies. [SSCI]

14. Lee, S., & Rudolf, R. (2022). The relationship between school-related gender-based violence and absenteeism: Evidence from fourteen Southern and Eastern African countries. South African Journal of Education. [SSCI]

13. Martinez-Zarzoso, I., & Rudolf, R. (2020). The trade facilitation impact of the Chinese diaspora. The World Economy, 43(9), 2411-2436. [SSCI]

12. Rudolf, R. (2020). Changing paradigms in measuring national well-being: How does Korea rank ‘beyond GDP’? Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 14(2), 118-121. [SCOPUS]

11. Rudolf, R. (2019). The impact of maize price shocks on household food security: Panel evidence from Tanzania. Food Policy, 85, 40-54. [SSCI & SCI]

10. Lee, J., Rhee, D. E., & Rudolf, R. (2019). Teacher gender, student gender, and primary school achievement: Evidence from ten Francophone African countries. The Journal of Development Studies, 55(4), 661-679. [SSCI]

9. Bethmann, D., & Rudolf, R. (2018). Happily ever after? Intrahousehold bargaining and the distribution of utility within marriage. Review of Economics of the Household, 16(2), 347-376. [SSCI]

8. Lin, X., & Rudolf, R. (2017). Does K-pop Reinforce Gender Inequalities? Empirical Evidence from a New Data Set. Asian Women, 33(4), 27-54. [SSCI]

7. B. Sarmiento, C. R. D., & Rudolf, R. (2017). The impact of childhood maltreatment on young adults’ mental health: Evidence from the Philippines. Asian Social Work and Policy Review, 11(1), 76-89. [SCOPUS]

6. Kang, S. J., & Rudolf, R. (2016). Rising or falling inequality in Korea? Population aging and generational trends. The Singapore Economic Review, 61(05), 1550089. [SSCI]

5. Priebe, J., & Rudolf, R. (2015). Does the Chinese Diaspora Speed Up Growth in Host Countries?. World Development, 76, 249-262. [SSCI]

4. Rudolf, R., & Kang, S. J. (2015). Lags and leads in life satisfaction in Korea: When gender matters. Feminist Economics, 21(1), 136-163. [SSCI]

3. Heshmati, A., & Rudolf, R. (2014). Income versus Consumption Inequality in Korea: Evaluating Stochastic Dominance Rankings by Various Household Attributes. Asian Economic Journal, 28(4), 413-436. [SSCI]

2. Rudolf, R. (2014). Work shorter, be happier? Longitudinal evidence from the Korean five-day working policy. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(5), 1139-1163. [SSCI]

1. Klasen, S., Priebe, J., & Rudolf, R. (2013). Cash crop choice and income dynamics in rural areas: evidence for post‐crisis Indonesia. Agricultural Economics, 44(3), 349-364. [SSCI & SCIE]

Publications in Korean Peer-Reviewed Journals

6. Rudolf, R., & Kang, K. (2021). How to reach a top college? Private tutoring vs. student interests in the race for college entrance success. 한국교육, 48(2), 161-189. [KCI]

5. Yang, S. G., & Rudolf., R. (2021). Predictors of child well-being within multicultural families in Korea. OMNES : The Journal of Multicultural Society, 11(2), 1-24. [KCI] 

4. Rudolf, R., & Kang, K. (2017). The Impact of Training Developing Country Ministerial Officials at Korean Universities: Evidence from the KOICA-KU Master’s Degree Program. 글로벌교육연구, 9(3), 163-202. [KCI]

3. Rudolf, R. & Abdul-Wahab, J. (2022). Gender, Education and Jobs. In: The World Bank (2022): The Gambia Poverty & Gender Assessment 2022. Securing a Robust and Inclusive Recovery. (pp. 43-61)

2. Rudolf, R. (2012). Employment, well-being and gender: dynamics and interactions in emerging Asia. Berlin: Peter Lang International Academic Publishers.

1. Priebe, J., Rudolf, R., Weisbrod, J., Klasen, S., Sugema, I., & Nuryartono, N. (2010). Rural income dynamics in post-crisis Indonesia: evidence from Central Sulawesi. In Tropical rainforests and agroforests under global change (pp. 161-176). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.

Courses Taught

I have taught the following courses since 2012:

1.) Introduction to Economics (undergraduate)

2.) Economic Development (undergraduate & graduate)

3.) Gender & Development (graduate)

4.) Policy Evaluation (graduate)

5.) Analysis of Micro Data (graduate)

6.) International Economics (graduate)

7.) Aid for Trade (graduate)

8.) Economics of Reunification (undergraduate)

Advising Graduate Students

I am regularly advising MA and PhD thesis students in their thesis research. My students usually use quantitative empirical methods and micro survey data (household, firm, or student data) in order to analyze questions related to development, poverty, inequality, education, gender, subjective well-being, firm behavior, and malnutrition.