Research

Dissertation

A core chapter of my dissertation examines whether governments and philanthropic funders should concentrate their anti-poverty grants among a few nonprofits or distribute them more equally. Using unique panel data constructed through machine-learning-based methods, I find that equal distribution across multiple anti-poverty nonprofits is associated with lower poverty levels. Further analysis reveals that government funding establishes core infrastructure through concentration, while philanthropic funding is associated with decreases in poverty most strongly when distributed equally to extend reach to underserved needs.

Publications

Choi, J. H., & Handy, F. (2025). “Social Closure in Social Work: The Racial Implications of Licensure Requirements” Advances in Social Work, 25(2), 576-593.

Oelberger, C., Eaton, A., & Choi, J. H. (2025). “One Size Fits All? Exploring Motivation for Public Employees with a Job Fit Framework and Response Surface Analysis” Review of Public Personnel Administration, 45(2), 333-364.

Allen, R., Horner, K., & Choi, J. H. (2023). “Penalties and Payoffs: The Short-Term Economic Consequences of Human Capital Acquisition for Resettled Refugees in the U.S.” International Migration, 61, 58–74.

Cheng, Y., & Choi, J. H. (2022). “Dealing with Endogeneity to Understand the Societal Impact of the Third Sector: Why Should We Care and What Can We Do About It?” VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 33, 1245-1255.