Hyeri Choi
Assistant Professor of Social Work Email: hchoi3@eiu.eduWebsite: https://www.hyerichoi.com/
INTRODUCTION
Fall 2025 Student Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:00-4:00pm; Wednesdays 1:00-3:00pm, or by appointment.
Dr. Choi is an interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in social policies that impact the low-wage labor market, worker welfare and child welfare. Specifically, she investigates the roles and effects of social, macroeconomic, and workplace policies in alleviating structural barriers that low-income families with children face in the labor market. Dr. Choi is dedicated to enhancing the competitive labor market, securing desired work hours, and crafting policies to improve employment and economic security for workers’ well-being.
Dr. Choi was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, School of Labor and Employment Relations. She received her Ph.D., in Social Welfare from University of Pennsylvania, Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia University and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Social Work from Stony Brook University, New York and University of Seoul, South Korea.
Prior to seeking a doctorate, Dr. Choi gained research experience in the Center for Research on Fathers, Children and Family Well-Being at Columbia University and Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs(KIHASA).
This Fall, Dr. Choi teaches SOC2420 Introduction to Social Work and SOC4000 Sociology of Work and Occupations.
Education & Training
2019–2023 PhD in Social Welfare University of Pennsylvania.
- Dissertation: Part-Time Work and Work Hours Preferences Committee: Ioana Marinescu (Chair), Dennis Culhane, Xi Song.
2015–2016 Master of Science in Social Work Columbia University.
- Method: Policy Practice, Concentration: Child, Youth, and Family
2013–2015 Bachelor of Science in Social Work SUNY at Stony Brook. Summa Cum Laude, Dean’s List (2013-2015).
2011–2015 Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare. Dual Degree Program with SUNY at Stony Brook. University of Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Research & Creative Interests
Work Hours and Schedules
Employer Power and Practices
Safety Net Programs
Worker and Family Well-being
Job Quality and Labor Standards
Macroeconomics and Public Policy Analysis
Publications
Manuscript
Choi, H. & Marinescu, I. (2025). Work attendance anxiety, precarious work schedules, and job satisfaction of essential retail workers during the early COVID-19 pandemic. Plos one, 20(3), e0318586. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318586
Choi, H. & Marinescu, I. (2024). “The Labor Demand Side of Involuntary Part-Time Employment”, Elsner, B. and Polachek, S.W. (Ed.) In Big Data Applications in Labor Economics, Part A (Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 52A), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 35-70. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0147-91212024000052A019
Choi, H. & Marinescu, I. (2024). Data for labor market concentration using Lightcast (formerly Burning Glass Technologies). Data in Brief. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2024.110647.
Choi, H. & Lee, J. (2023). A Comprehensive Literature Review of the Impact of Child Tax Credit/Child Allowance in the United States and South Korea. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 43 (11/12), 1257-1278. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-03-2023-0064
Zanti, S., Meagan, C., Choi, H., & Stern, M. (2022). Examining Early Power Dynamics within Societies to Protect Children from Cruelty. Qualitative Social Work, 22 (2), 302 320. https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250211059436
Policy Reports
Choi, H.(2025). The Gender Gaps in Employment: The Impact of Occupational Segregation on Women in Illinois Research Brief. Project for Middle Class Renewal, University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations. https://lep.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/PMCR Occupational Seg Brief.pdf
Choi, H.(2025). Workshare as a New Safety Net for Illinois Workers: The Impact on Employment Outcomes. Policy Report. Project for Middle Class Renewal, University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations.
https://lep.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/No-WM-PMCR-Workshare.pdf
Golden, L., Choi, H., Wang,W., Bellisle, D., Dickson, A., & Bruno, R. (2024). What Makes Work More Than Just a Living? Determinants of Employment Quality in Illinois. Policy Report. Project for Middle Class Renewal, University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations. https://lep.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/PMCR EQIL2-NR1030.pdf
Choi, H., Lee, J., Jeon, G., & Kang, J. (2024). Effects of th Expanded Child Tax Credit on employment outcomes: Evidence from the Midwest and implications for Illinois. Policy Report. Project for Middle Class Renewal, University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment
Relations. https://lep.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/PMCR-Expanded-CTC final.pdf
Choi, H. (2024). Do work requirements mean that more low income adults work? Lessons from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistant Program in Illinois. Policy Report. Project for Middle Class Renewal, University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations. https://lep.illinois.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PMCR SNAP-report final 040924.pdf