Welcome to my website!

My name is Sun Kyoung Lee, and I usually go by “Sun (\ˈsən\).” I received my Ph.D. in Economics from Columbia University in 2019. I am a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center,  the Stone Center for Inequality Dynamics (CID).

My current research focuses on Economic History and Spatial Economics with Big Data. I’ve extensively worked on implementing the machine-learning and GIS-based approach to connect large datasets. My research touches upon issues of inequality, racial segregation, urban development, transit infrastructure policies and land-use policies called “zoning”, and intergenerational mobility. For example, my Job Market Paper titled When Cities Grow: Urban Planning and Segregation in the Prewar US” studies how the government’s urban planning policies may have segregated America during its era of unprecedented economic and population growth.

Contact Information

Center for Inequality Dynamics
Institute of Social Research
426 Thompson St.
Room 2068
Ann Arbor, MI 48109