Skip to main content

Yunji Kim

Seoul National University · 社会科学

研究室紹介

Professor Yunji Kim's research lab focuses on urban fiscal policy, local government capacity, and the political economy of service delivery in the context of fiscal stress and austerity. The lab investigates how municipalities navigate financial challenges through innovative revenue strategies, alternative service delivery models (such as privatization and inter-municipal cooperation), and institutional arrangements that balance equity and efficiency. Drawing on large-scale survey data and empirical analysis, the lab challenges dominant narratives of austerity urbanism by highlighting pragmatic, context-sensitive governance responses in U.S. cities and counties.

fiscal stresslocal governmentpragmatic municipalismservice deliveryurban finance

Research Overview

Papers
143
Total Citations
1,578
Papers (5y)
42
Primary Field
社会科学

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
42total
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Citations per year (5y)
110total
20222023202420252026

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|129 citations·2016
PRAGMATIC MUNICIPALISM: LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICE DELIVERY AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION
Yunji Kim, Mildred E. Warner
SJR Q1Public Administration

Since the Great Recession, some have argued that local governments have become ‘austerity machines’ that cut and privatize services and undermine unions. We conducted a national survey of US municipalities in 2012 to examine how service provision level and delivery methods are related to local stress and capacity, controlling for community need and place characteristics. We find that local governments are balancing the pressures of stress with community needs. They use alternative revenue source

Public AdministrationSocial Sciences
2
Article|92 citations·2016
Mucosal and salivary microbiota associated with recurrent aphthous stomatitis
Yunji Kim, Yun Sik Choi, Keum Jin Baek, Seok-Hwan Yoon, Heekyung Park, Youngnim Choi
SJR Q1BMC MicrobiologyOA

RAS is associated with dysbiosis of the mucosal and salivary microbiota, and two species associated with RAS have been identified. This knowledge may provide a diagnostic tool and new targets for therapeutics for RAS.

PeriodonticsDentistry
3
Article|70 citations·2020
Pragmatic Municipalism: U.S. Local Government Responses to Fiscal Stress
Mildred E. Warner, Austin M. Aldag, Yunji Kim
SJR Q1Public Administration Review

Abstract This article updates cutback management theory and challenges austerity urbanism theory by showing that local governments practice pragmatic municipalism—protecting services with a balanced response to fiscal stress. Using a 2017 national survey of 2,341 U.S. municipalities and counties, the authors identify four responses—no specific action, cuts, revenue supplements, and deferrals. Structural equation models show that cuts are higher in places with older infrastructure and more unempl

Political Science and International RelationsSocial Sciences
4
Article|67 citations·2020
Pragmatic municipalism or austerity urbanism? Understanding local government responses to fiscal stress
Yunji Kim, Mildred E. Warner
SJR Q1Local Government StudiesOA

While national governments responded to the Great Recession with austerity, local government responses were varied. Two contrasting views are found in the literature: ‘austerity urbanism’ and ‘pragmatic municipalism’. We argue austerity urbanism best reflects local responses in contexts where local governments have limited autonomy and cuts in local government aid have been severe, such as Detroit in the US, England, and the southern states in the EU. Pragmatic municipalism best explains local r

FinanceEconomics, Econometrics and Finance
5
Article|48 citations·2017
Limits of Property Taxes and Charges: City Revenue Structures After the Great Recession
Yunji Kim
SJR Q1Urban Affairs Review

Public finance theories argue local governments should primarily use broad-based and stable property taxes. However, the housing bust after the Great Recession challenges this argument, and historical trends show cities have heavily relied on charges since the late 1970s. Using 2012 Census of Governments data for 2,396 cities, this article explores which cities rely more on charges and the links between property tax dependence and city stress. Regression results show property tax dependence is l

Economics and EconometricsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance
6
Article|40 citations·2017
Geographies of Local Government Stress after the Great Recession
Yunji Kim, Mildred E. Warner
SJR Q1Social Policy and Administration

Abstract Local governments in the USA are facing increased levels of fiscal stress after the Great Recession. We conducted a national survey in 2012 to assess differences in sources of stress and service delivery responses (privatization, inter‐municipal co‐operation, and public delivery) across places. Our discriminant analysis on 1,889 US cities and counties contributes to the literature on state rescaling. We differentiate three types of stress: fiscal, housing market decline and demographic.

Economics and EconometricsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance
7
Article|38 citations·2013
The Development and Application of a Community Wellbeing Index in Korean Metropolitan Cities
Yunji Kim, Seung Jong Lee
SJR Q1Social Indicators Research
HealthSocial Sciences
8
Article|36 citations·2014
An Analysis of the Relative Importance of Components in Measuring Community Wellbeing: Perspectives of Citizens, Public Officials, and Experts
Yunji Kim, Youngwha Kee, Seung Jong Lee
SJR Q1Social Indicators Research
Social PsychologyPsychology
9
Article|35 citations·2018
Shrinking local autonomy: corporate coalitions and the subnational state
Yunji Kim, Mildred E. Warner
SJR Q1Cambridge Journal of Regions Economy and Society

Using focus groups and government finance data, we explore three areas of US state rescaling at the subnational level: revenue tools, expenditure responsibilities and policy authority. Expenditure responsibilities, especially social welfare, have been devolved to the subnational level, while local revenue tools and policy authority are preempted. This decoupling of responsibility and power is cracking the foundations of fiscal federalism. At the behest of corporate-legislative coalitions, subnat

Political Science and International RelationsSocial Sciences
10
Article|29 citations·2017
Can alternative service delivery save cities after the Great Recession? Barriers to privatisation and cooperation
Yunji Kim
SJR Q1Local Government Studies

Cities continue to face fiscal challenges after the Great Recession and alternative service delivery is being emphasised as a solution. How promising is alternative service delivery as a solution and what are its barriers? Regression analyses using 2012 survey data of US local governments show that local governments manage procedural barriers, but structural barriers of economy and demography hinder privatisation and cooperation. Places with a housing bust (measured as decline in home values) ca

FinanceEconomics, Econometrics and Finance
11
Article|27 citations·2025
Hydrogen Purity: Influence of Production Methods, Purification Techniques, and Analytical Approaches
Yunji Kim, Heena Yang
SJR Q1EnergiesOA

Hydrogen purity plays a crucial role in the expanding hydrogen economy, particularly in applications such as fuel cells and industrial processes. This review investigates the relationship between hydrogen production methods and resulting purity levels, emphasizing the differences between reforming, electrolysis, and biomass-based techniques. Furthermore, it explores state-of-the-art purification technologies, including pressure swing adsorption (PSA), membrane separation, and cryogenic distillat

Mechanical EngineeringEngineering
12
Book Chapter|25 citations·2014
Developing CityGML Indoor ADE to Manage Indoor Facilities
Yunji Kim, Hye-Young Kang, Jiyeong Lee
SJR Q4Lecture notes in geoinformation and cartography
Building and ConstructionEngineering
13
Article|24 citations·2018
Limits of fiscal federalism: How narratives of local government inefficiency facilitate scalar dumping in New York State
Yunji Kim
SJR Q1Environment and Planning A Economy and Space

US local governments are responsible for a variety of services, based on the assumptions of fiscal federalism that local governments can deliver residents the services they want at the lowest cost. However, an austerity narrative that calls for shrinking public budgets emerged after the 2008 global financial crisis and higher levels of government are dumping fiscal stress down to the local level in a process of “scalar dumping.” How do local governments respond to these austerity pressures and w

Political Science and International RelationsSocial Sciences
14
Article|22 citations·2022
The role of local governments in South Korea's COVID‐19 response
Yunji Kim, Yeong Ah Jeong
SJR Q1Public Administration and DevelopmentOA

Abstract Research on COVID‐19 responses has largely focused on national governments. Meanwhile, the crisis management literature has noted that such “transboundary crises” require collaborative responses. What role can local governments play? How do citizen perceptions matter? We look for answers in South Korea that has been considered a model case for managing COVID‐19. We use data from policy briefs, news reports, and local government websites to show that local governments successfully implem

Sociology and Political ScienceSocial Sciences
15
Article|21 citations·2020
A Balanced View: Us Local Government Managers’ Perceptions of Fiscal Stress
Yunji Kim, Austin M. Aldag, Mildred E. Warner
SJR Q3Public Administration Quarterly

Fiscal stress among local governments in the US has become a key concern since the 2008 Recession. Fiscal stress is fueled by structural pressures from demography, economy, and state policy. How do these pressures shape perceptions of fiscal stress? We conducted a national survey in 2017 of 2,064 US local governments. Our regression models measure the factors that differentiate perceptions of fiscal stress among local government leaders. We find governments with professional managers perceive hi

Economics and EconometricsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance

Research Areas

Political Science and International RelationsSociology and Political ScienceCultural StudiesEconomics and EconometricsSocial PsychologyEducation

Yunji Kimの研究をNubintでさらに深く

この研究室の論文をアプリで開き、AIと共に読み、要約し、引用しましょう。