Dr. Hao Dong (left) and Dr. Wookun Kim (right) have been awarded a University Research Council grant, which funds SMU faculty research across the disciplines.
Dr. Dong’s funded research project aims to test the validity of the “buffer-stock” version of the permanent income hypothesis model using empirical data. The income variable from the empirical data, however, does not usually represent the permanent income. To overcome this, we have developed a novel test using observed income as a noisy measurement of the permanent income.
Dr. Kim’s project studies college enrollment decisions using the Texas Education Research Center (ERC) data. The ultimate goal of this research is to shed light on viable real-life policy options aligned with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) strategic plan and the goals of 60x30TX: enhancing equitability in higher education and economic efficiency in the context of Texas.