In recognition of his scholarly impact advancing business and society, Minchul Yum, Ph.D., has been named the inaugural Dean’s Distinguished Fellow in the VCU School of Business. The associate professor of economics begins his three-year appointment July 1.

“Min’s work is competing at the highest echelons of his field and reaching well beyond it,” said Mayoor Mohan, Ph.D., professor and associate dean for strategic affairs and research initiatives. “Publishing in both the American Economic Review and Econometrica in a single year is exceptionally rare, and his research is shaping conversations at the Brookings Institution, the United Nations, and elite universities on every continent.”

“The Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship was created to recognize and sustain exactly that combination of rigor and relevance,” Mohan said, “and Min sets the standard for us.” 

Yum is a macroeconomist — he studies the structure and performance of an entire economy — and he also focuses on family, public and labor economics. “I’m very interested in understanding demographic changes such as declining fertility and marriage rates, and how these trends interact with the labor market and public policy,” Yum said. “These issues are central in many countries; understanding them requires a framework that connects family choices with macroeconomic outcomes.”

Among the projects Yum has undertaken are the link between time spent on child-rearing and generational income inequality, the impact of parental leave benefits on fertility rates and whether school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to long-term consequences for future income. His current work includes exploring the role housing prices play in South Korea on the increasing share of young adults living with their parents, and redistributive social security programs.

“My research is designed to inform policy decisions that can affect families,” Yum said. “For example, how can governments design policies that can increase efficiencies while providing more equitable allocations?”    

Yum joined the VCU faculty in August 2024 after appointments at universities in Germany and England. “Those experiences were valuable because I shaped my research agenda and increased international collaborations,” Yum said. “But at the same time, I was always interested in moving back to the United States. I studied here; my Ph.D. is from Ohio State. And the U.S. is the major hub for research in economics.” So when Christopher Herrington, Ph.D., associate professor of economics, reached out about an opening at VCU, Min said he was intrigued.

Herrington recalls first meeting Yum at a conference in 2015. “We had complementary research interests and became very good friends,” Herrington said. “And I was always thinking, this is somebody we’d be interested in recruiting — because a lot of people may do good research, but Min also takes a genuine interest in making other people’s research better.”

“I think the fellowship is important not only to recognize the quality of the work Min’s done and the value he brings to the department and to the school but also because it enables him to continue devoting time and energy into producing the amazing work he’s doing,” Herrington said. “Everyone in the department is excited that the School of Business is making this investment to ensure Min can continue to be a productive scholar and a leader in this field.”

The fellowship offers $17,000 annually. The program is structured so that a second fellow will be selected in year two, with a third fellow selected in year three. After that, one fellow will rotate off each year, and a new fellow will be appointed. Fellows are expected to maintain active research programs, submit annual progress reports and present in the Dean’s Research Seminar Series.

“It’s a great honor to be named the inaugural fellow,” Yum said. “I see it as recognition of my research program and its alignment with the school’s mission. I appreciate this new emphasis on supporting high-quality research, and I think it’s critical for VCU becoming one of the top global institutions. I’m honored to be part of this moment.”