Hyeri Choi, a PhD candidate at Penn’s School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2), has received a significant research grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The grant, totaling $125,516 over three years, will enable Ms. Choi and her advisor, SP2 assistant professor Ioana Marinescu, to quantify the ways that employer market power contributes to the persistence of unemployment and underemployment after a recession, understand how unemployment and underemployment evolve during a recession and its aftermath, and examine policy innovations that could deliver a stronger recovery in the labor market.

“This grant is meaningful to me not only because it’s the first research grant that I actively worked with, but also because it has been a great opportunity for me to learn a collaborative research process from the very beginning,” Ms. Choi said. “I am grateful to see an output for this project. Dr. Marinescu has been a great mentor throughout this process.”

Prior to entering SP2’s PhD in Social Welfare program, Ms. Choi earned dual bachelor’s degrees in social work from Stony Brook University and the University of Seoul in South Korea. She went on to obtain a master of social work (MSW) degree from Columbia University, with a policy concentration. Pursuing her strong interest in the policy world, Ms. Choi worked at former U.S. congressman Steve Israel’s local office and the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea as a social work intern. She also gained research experience in the Center for Research on Fathers, Children, and Family Well-Being at Columbia University and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA).