Sukkoo Kim is an associate professor of economics whose research and teaching focus on American economic history as well as international trade and economics.
Kim is a scholar of geography and institutions from a historical perspective. Geographically, he has documented and examined the causes of the historical trends in U.S. regional economies; institutionally, he has studied the histories of American colonies and states. Kim has also written papers on the rise of modern business enterprises in the U.S. as well as aspects of the Canadian and Indian economies.
His working book manuscript, “Creating the American State,” is focused on understanding the origins of American exceptionalism, an idea first introduced by Alexis DeTocqueville in “Democracy in America.” Kim argues that to understand why the American states were so exceptional by the early 19th century, it is not simply enough to consider American history and context. You need to travel back in time to study the institutional histories of England and its colonies in America.
Kim joined the WashU Department of Economics in 1993. He held a joint appointment with the Department of Global Studies for a decade, and he served as a research associate with the National Bureau of Economics Research from 2000-2014.
Originally from Los Angeles, Kim received his bachelor's degree from Pomona College and his doctorate from UCLA. He is a backpacker of the Sierras and a lifelong fan of the Dodgers.