Annie Soyean Lee

I am an Assistant Professor of International Economics at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS. I received my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2022. I will be on a sabbatical leave in Fall 2026.

My research interest lies in the determinants of the currency composition of assets and liabilities of governments, private agents, and the aggregate economy. I specifically focus on the role of exchange rate risk in currency choice, and the macroeconomic implications of such choices.

I co-organized Johns Hopkins University SAIS-KSAS-Carey Geoeconomics Conference on May 2-3, 2025.

I am co-organizing the 2025 Washington Area International Finance Symposium conference on September 26th, 2025.

Primary Research Fields: International Finance and Macroeconomics

Contact Information:

Email: annie.lee.econ [at] gmail.com
JHU Contact: 558AAF, 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001 (annie.lee [at] jhu.edu)

Curriculum Vitae: CV

Legal Name: Soyean Lee (이소연)

Publications & Forthcoming Papers

Carry Trades and FX Risk Buffers: Foreign Currency Debt of Emerging Market Firms (with Steve Pak Yeung Wu)

Accepted at Review of Economics and Statistics

[publisher link] [working paper version] [online appendix]

Abstract: The surge in foreign currency (FC) corporate debt in emerging economies has sparked concerns about macroeconomic stability, heightened by speculation about non-financial firms engaging in carry trades. Using firm-level data on the currency denomination of both assets and liabilities, we find evidence of firms’ carry trades: firms save in local currency liquid assets and earn higher interest income after issuing short-term FC debt. They also set aside FC liquid assets as FX risk buffers. A large degree of heterogeneity in incentives is observed. Notably, listed firms participate more in carry trades and allocate less FX risk buffers than non-listed firms.

Presented at: Midwest Macro Fall 2022, Society for Economic Dynamics 2023

First version: November 2021

Previously circulated as "Carry Trades and Precautionary Saving: The Use of Proceeds from Foreign Currency Debt Issuance"

Working Papers

Liability Dollarization and Exchange Rate Pass-Through To Domestic Prices (with Junhyong Kim)

Revision Requested at Journal of International Economics

[paper] This version: June 2024

Abstract: We explore the negative balance sheet effect of foreign currency borrowing on the exchange rate pass-through to domestic prices. Exploiting a large unexpected devaluation episode in Korea in 1997, we show that firms with higher foreign currency debt have indeed experienced balance sheet deterioration and faced lower growth rates of sales and net worths and reduced their price-cost markups. We then empirically document that a sector populated by firms with higher foreign currency debt exposure prior to the crisis experienced a larger price increase. Building a heterogeneous firm model with financial constraints, we quantify the role of foreign currency liabilities in explaining the exchange rate pass-through to prices and find that 20% to 80% of the sectoral price changes during the crisis can be explained by the balance sheet effect of foreign currency debt alone. We emphasize the role of strategic complementarity in amplifying the sectoral price increase.

Presented at: Midwest Macro Fall 2019, Korea International Economic Association 2022 Winter Conference at SNU, ASSA Meeting 2023, Ohio State University, Yonsei University, University of Seoul, NBER East Asian Seminar on Economics 2023, Washington Area International Finance Symposium, 3rd WE_ARE_IN Macroeconomics and Finance 2023, 4th Women in International Economics Conference, Johns Hopkins University - Economics Department, ASSA Meeting 2024, NBER International Finance and Macroeconomics Program Meeting Spring 2024, WE_ARE Virtual Seminar Series, University of Houston, Southern Economic Association 2024, Waseda University, Keio University, KER International Conference 2025

First version: August 2019

U.S. Liquid Government Liabilities and Emerging Market Capital Flows (with Charles Engel)

Revision Requested at Journal of International Economics

[paper] [NBER WP] This version: March 2025

Abstract: Empirical work finds that flows of investments from the U.S. and other high income countries to emerging markets increase during times of quantitative easing (QE) by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and the reverse movement occurs under quantitative tightening. We offer new evidence to confirm these findings, and then propose a theory based on the liquidity of U.S. government liabilities held by the public. We hypothesize that QE, by increasing liquidity, offers greater flexibility for investors that might be concerned their funds will be tied up when shocks to income or investment opportunities arise. With the assurance that some of their portfolio can be readily sold in liquid markets, rich country investors are more willing to increase investments in illiquid loans to emerging markets. The effect of increasing the liquidity of U.S. government liabilities on investments in EMs may even be stronger during times of greater uncertainty. We find evidence to support our interpretation: QE lowers covered interest parity deviations for the dollar, as our model predicts.

Presented at: Central Bank of Brazil, Society for Economic Dynamics Winter Meeting 2024, RIDGE December Forum International Macro, CEBRA Annual Meeting 2025, World Congress of the Econometric Society, Midwest Macro Fall 2025 (scheduled), ASSA Meeting 2026 (scheduled)

First version: May 2024

Are Exporters Naturally Hedged? Corporate Dollar Debt and Global Trade (with Junhyong Kim and Saiah Lee)

[paper] This version: June 2025

Abstract: We study how dollar-denominated debt and firm heterogeneity affect exchange rate pass-through to trade, using Korean firm-level balance sheet and customs transaction data. Export-intensive firms do not borrow more in foreign currency, suggesting natural hedging is not a key driver of the currency denomination of debt. Exploiting the 1997 devaluation, we find higher foreign currency debt exposure led to lower export quantity growth and higher price growth for smaller firms, with the opposite for very large firms. Liquidity shortages constrain smaller firms, while larger firms offset debt burdens by expanding exports. The financial channel remains relevant in recent years.

Presented at: UNIST, North American Summer Meeting 2024, KER International Conference 2024, Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society in China 2024, IMIM virtual seminar, Korea University, Sogang University, 4th Virtual Workshop for International Macro and Sovereign Debt, IMF, Korea International Finance Association, Society for Economic Dynamics 2025, China International Conference in Finance 2025, World Congress of the Econometric Society, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (scheduled), ASSA Meeting 2026 (scheduled), 4th Workshop on Macroeconomic Policy in Emerging Markets at the Banco Centeral de Chile (scheduled)

First version: June 2024

Previously circulated as "Corporate Dollar Debt and Global Trades: The Role of Firm Heterogeneity"

Why Do Emerging Economies Borrow in Foreign Currency? The Role of Exchange Rate Risk

[paper] [slides] This version: October 2024

Abstract: Borrowing in foreign currency often leads to currency mismatches on emerging economies’ balance sheets, causing financial instability. Nonetheless, emerging market governments borrow more in foreign currency, particularly when exchange rate volatility is higher. This paper develops a sovereign default model with risk-averse international lenders, where emerging economies bear the exchange rate risk due to the high foreign exchange risk premium on local currency debt. The model effectively captures the cost of borrowing in local and foreign currency and the currency composition of external public debt, suggesting a 0.35% welfare gain from exchange rate stabilization for emerging market sovereigns.

Presented at: KU Leuven Summer Event 2022, Asian Meeting of the Econometric Society in China 2022 (AMES), Yonsei University, Society for Economic Dynamics 2022 (SED), Korea-America Economic Association, Midwest Macro Fall 2022, University of Maryland, North American Summer Meeting 2023, Sovereign Debt Workshop at the IMF, DebtCon8 (scheduled)

First Version: November 2021

Implications of Infrequent Portfolio Adjustment for International Portfolio Choices

[paper] This version: April 2022

Abstract: This paper helps unravel the long-standing equity home bias puzzle by building a model in which an agent infrequently adjusts her portfolio holdings of home and foreign equities. As real exchange rate returns are volatile, an investor who invests in foreign equities and holds on to her portfolio holdings for a long duration is likely to drift away from an optimal allocation. The agent, taking infrequent adjustment into account ex-ante, lowers her demand for foreign equities, generating home bias in equities. The introduction of the euro into various European countries and the enlargement of euro area in subsequent years provide a natural environment in which to validate the implications of the model. We empirically document that European countries experience lower equity home bias after adopting the euro as cross-border equity investment within the euro area entails no nominal exchange rate risk. When the levels of real exchange rate volatility are calibrated to match the average levels for European countries in the euro area and outside the euro area, the model can match the difference in levels of equity home bias between European countries experienced after the introduction of the euro.

Presented at: North American Summer Meeting 2019 (NASMES 2019), Midwest Macro Fall 2019, Economics Graduate Student Conference 2019 in St.Louis (EGSC 2019), Western Economic Association International 2021 (Virtual, WEAI 2021)

First version: December 2018

Pre-doctoral Publication:

"Geography of cross-border portfolio investments and ICT diffusion," International Review of Economics & Finance (2016)

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