Hang Young Lee’s research areas span social inequality, social stratification and mobility, economic sociology, and social networks. His research has centered on illuminating social processes that facilitate or constrain social mobility of individuals, more precisely the mechanism of cumulative advantage/disadvantage whereby the advantaged remain privileged, and the disadvantaged remain underprivileged. He addresses this issue in two substantive research areas: social capital and the one percent of either income or wealth distributions.

On the one hand, his ongoing research on social capital studies social capital inequality across immigrant groups and explores how network-driven job search processes disadvantage minority workers in the job attainment process.

On the other hand, his ongoing research on the one percent examines the degree to which top positions are self-made or inherited, analyzes the cross-country variation in the extent of mobility into, out of or between top positions, and investigates how asset allocation strategies are associated with the membership of top positions.

Before joining Macquarie University, he received Ph.D. in sociology from Duke University and was a postdoctoral researcher at the Social Science Research Institute, Duke University.