Kenneth Burdett Appointed the James Joo-Jin Kim Professor of Economics

Kenneth Burdett has been appointed the James Joo-Jin Kim Professor of Economics in the School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Burdett has been a professor in the Department of Economics at Penn since 2002 and is an associate editor of the International Economic Review and a fellow of the Econometric Society. His current research interest is the evolution of wages and labor market status of workers with an equilibrium context.

In 2007, Dr. Burdett was the recipient of the Kravis Award, which honors professors for outstanding undergraduate teaching in economics. Other academic honors include being named a fellow of the Society of Labor Economists. He has served as the graduate chair in economics. He is the author of over four dozen papers and earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University.

This chair was established in 2001 by James Joo-Jin Kim, W’59, G’61, Gr’63, an emeritus member of the University’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Kim is the founding chairman and executive chairman of Amkor Technology, Inc. He is a former member of the SAS Board of Overseers and Wharton’s Executive Board for Asia, and a former member of the Penn Alumni Council and Penn Alumni Board of Directors. This past spring, Dr. Kim gave $6 million to strengthen the Korean Studies Program to be renamed the James Joo-Jin Kim Program in Korean Studies. Among his many contributions to the University, Dr. Kim has established the James Joo-Jin Kim Professorship at the Wharton School and has been a generous supporter of undergraduate financial aid.