Jeehae Kang
University Academic Alliance in Taiwan (UAAT) International Young Visiting Scholar
Ph.D. institution: School of Social Work, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Email: jeehaek2@illinois.edu
Host Scholar: Julia Shu-Huah Wang, Associate Professor
Hosting Department/Institution: National Taiwan University, Department of Social Work
Biography: Jeehae Kang recently received her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on low-wage and precarious employment, economic mobility, poverty, and social policy. Using quantitative and longitudinal research methods, she studies how labor market conditions and social inequalities shape economic security and family well-being over the life course. Her dissertation examines long-term wage mobility among low-wage workers in the United States, and her current work extends this agenda to comparative research on women’s employment trajectories and social policy across the United States, South Korea, and Taiwan.
Lecture [1]:
Date ＆ Time: Friday, October 2nd, 2026, 12:40-13:30
Venue: Room 401, Department of Social Work, National Taiwan University
Title: Pathways to Progress: Understanding Wage Mobility among Low-Wage Workers in the United States
Abstract: Low-wage work is often viewed as a temporary stage on the path toward better employment, yet workers’ experiences vary substantially over time. This talk examines wage mobility among low-wage workers in the United States using longitudinal data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The study addresses three related questions: how workers’ wage trajectories unfold across adulthood, which early-life and early-career conditions are associated with different long-term mobility pathways, and what happens in the years following workers’ exit from low-wage employment. Using sequence analysis and competing-risks event history analysis, the study identifies distinct patterns of long-term wage mobility and post-exit employment experiences. Particular attention is given to the roles of education, job characteristics, gender, race, and family circumstances in shaping economic mobility. The findings illustrate substantial heterogeneity in workers’ pathways and highlight how both individual resources and labor market structures shape opportunities for upward mobility. The talk concludes with implications for social policy and future research on employment trajectories and economic inequality.
Lecture [2]:
Date ＆ Time: Saturday, October 17th, 2026, 4:00-5:30
Venue: Room D1005, 2nd Teaching & Research Building, Waishuanghsi Campus, Soochow University
Title: Long-Term Wage Trajectories and Labor Market Inequality among Low-Wage Workers in the United States (Presentation as part of the workshop “Welfare Attitudes and Public Perception towards Sustainability Trilemma in East Asian Welfare States”)
Abstract: Low-wage employment is often viewed as a temporary stage or stepping-stone toward better-paying work, yet workers’ experiences may unfold very differently over the life course. This study examines long-term wage and employment trajectories among low-wage workers in the United States and the factors associated with upward mobility.
Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), the study follows 4,864 workers from ages 25 to 57 over a 33-year period. Sequence analysis identifies typical long-term trajectories, and multinomial logistic regression examines how demographic characteristics, human capital, early job characteristics, family circumstances, and socioeconomic background predict trajectory membership.
Five distinct trajectories emerged: High-Wage Achievers, Upper-Middle Wage Climbers, Lower-Middle Wage Climbers, Persistently Low-Wage workers, and Labor Force Exiters. The findings show substantial variation in the duration of low-wage employment, upward mobility, and labor force attachment. Women and Black workers were less likely to follow advantaged trajectories, while educational attainment was the strongest and most consistent predictor of upward mobility. Early job characteristics and socioeconomic background also shaped long-term outcomes.
Overall, the study demonstrates that low-wage employment is not a uniform or necessarily temporary experience, but rather unfolds along highly stratified pathways that contribute to cumulative labor market inequality over the working life course.