The University of Hong Kong 
Dr Sinn Won Han
Assistant Professor
swhan@hku.hk
+852 3917 7437
Biography
Sinn Won Han is Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong. Before joining HKU, Sinn Won was a postdoctoral associate at Cornell University Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy. Sinn Won received his doctoral degree from the Department of Sociology at Harvard University. Sinn Won is a demographer who studies patterns, causes, and consequences of the low fertility in developed societies. Under this overarching topic, his current research explores three themes: (1) Whether and how does the radius of trust matter for fertility intentions and behaviors? (2) Is the “left-right political fertility gap” indeed the case in advanced industrial democracies, as some politicians and commentators are putting it? (3) Do sustained low fertility and population aging retard economic growth? If so, does the decline in “economic dynamism” (e.g., declining technological innovations and entrepreneurship) mediates the two phenomena?
Courses taught
Education
PhD, Sociology, Harvard University
AM, Sociology, Harvard University
BA, Sociology, Korea University
Research interests
Social demography
Political demography
Norms and trust
Labor markets and public policies
Quantitative methodologies
Cross-national comparative research
Current research
An Empirical Investigation of the Left-Right Political Fertility Gap
Postindustrial Configurations of Gender-Role Attitudes and Family Values
Reconceptualizing Individualism: Paradox of Cooperation and Inequality (with Minjae Kim)
Variation in Work Hours and Returns to Work Hours in Comparative Perspective (with Kelly Musick)
Honours and recognitions
2020 Reischauer Institute Research Grant (Harvard University)
2020 Derek Bok Center Certificate of Distinction in Teaching (Harvard University)
2018 Weatherhead Graduate Research Award (Harvard University)
2015-2017 Fulbright Graduate Study Scholarship
Selected publications
Han, Sinn Won, Ohjae Gowen, and Mary C. Brinton. “When Mothers Do It All: Gender-Role Norms, Women’s Employment, and Fertility Intentions in Postindustrial Societies.” Accepted at European Sociological Review.
Han, Sinn Won. Forthcoming. “When Kids Are a Burden: Understanding the Normative Sources of Negative Perceptions of Parenthood.” Population and Development Review. (https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12573)
Han, Sinn Won. 2022. “Is It Only a Numbers Game? A Macro-Level Study of Educational Hypogamy.” Demography 59(4): 1571-1593. (https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-10126742)
Han, Sinn Won, and Mary C. Brinton. 2022. “Theories of Postindustrial Fertility Decline: An Empirical Examination.” Population and Development Review 48(2): 303-330. (https://doi.org/10.1111/padr.12490)