Travel Plans in Dec and Jan: Dec 9: NYC Reducing Inequality Network (NYU) Dec 10-11: Asia Society annual meeting (NYC)

[Call for Extended Abstracts/Papers] New Data, Methods, and Theory: Life-Course Cognitive Inequality We are inviting submissions for the interdisciplinary conference New Data, Methods, and Theory: Life-Course Cognitive Inequality, to be held at Yale University on May 11-12, 2026.

[Due to huge interests in this, I post it here as well] I came across this interesting demography problem on X. It looks obvious until you actually think about it. And if you ask GPT, it will not give you the correct answer!

Thrilled to be serving on the postdoc selection committee this year! If you’re working on social applications of LLMs or causal inference using observational data, I’d love to see your application!

I talked about the fertility issues in China in this article: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

See many of you next Friday!

Had a great time at the Remote Work Conference last week! It’s been a while since I’ve attended such an intellectually stimulating and welcoming event.

Just posted a new working paper on SSRN! We pit rule-based, machine learning, and various LLM methods against each other to classify social outcomes (like gender, custody, and housing) from Chinese divorce judgments. What can human–machine disagreement teach us about validity and inference?

Z-CAFÉ will soon open a new postdoctoral position. We’re looking for scholars passionate about family, health, demography, policy, and aging, broadly defined, who also bring strong statistical and computational skills.

Looking forward to the amazing Deborah Carr visiting us next Monday!

Excited to attend this year's Remote Work Conference at Stanford (www.remoteworkconference.org)! Look forward to connecting with scholars who are interested in flexible work and those in the Stanford area!

Lately I’ve been hearing parents talk about how private equity firms are increasingly buying up daycares and nursing homes in Connecticut.

I was recently interviewed for this thoughtful piece in The New Journal about Chinese international students navigating today’s political climate. The article captures both the courage and vulnerability of students whose education and voices are shaped by forces far beyond the classroom.

New in American Journal of Epidemiology! doi.org/10.1093/aje/...

Indeed, UNC-CH Sociology is hiring again! Check it out and please share. :)

We're hiring for a senior appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor! Apply here: facultypositions.stanford.edu/en-us/job/49...

🚨 We’re hiring! Yale Sociology is searching for a Senior Quantitative Sociologist to join our department. Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/174709

Grateful my article made “Most Popular of the Week” at Foreign Policy. A reminder that beyond wars and geopolitics, the lived experiences of ordinary people in China also resonate deeply with readers.

Excited to share that my lab’s new website (zcafe.net) is live! We’re building Z-CAFÉ to study health, family, and inequality in a changing world, using data science tools. The site is the place to watch for upcoming openings (pre-docs, postdocs, RAs). Check it out and stay tuned!

China’s birthrate is plunging, but this isn’t just a demographic crisis. It’s a crisis of faith in the future. Why many young Chinese no longer believe in marriage, parenthood, or long-term planning — My new op-ed in Foreign Policy & ChinaFile: chinafile.com/reporting-op...

New Yale study: Sex-selective abortion bans don’t change sex ratios—but they do harm health. Among Asian immigrant mothers, bans increased low birth weight + preterm births. (news.yale.edu/2025/08/29/s...)

The Yale Population Studies Workshop is live! Check out our fall lineup here: isps.yale.edu/population-s... Speakers span sociology, economics, medicine, and political science. Both Yale and non-Yale folks are welcome to sign up for the email listserv!

China just rolled out a new childcare subsidy to tackle its record-low birth rate. I spoke with CNN about what this means—and why cash alone might not be enough. edition.cnn.com/2025/08/05/c...

I'm happy to share that I've joined the Asia Society Policy Institute as a Fellow. Looking forward to engaging more with policy issues related to China and working alongside others who care about bridging research and policy. Grateful for the opportunity to learn, contribute, and grow in this space.

I was interviewed for this Reuters piece on China’s new national childcare subsidy and its potential impact on fertility. I emphasized that while financial support is welcome, real change requires long-term investments in childcare, gender equity, and family security. www.reuters.com/markets/emer...

Just spoke on CGTN about China’s new national childcare subsidy (¥3,600 per child/year). A big policy shift, but research shows cash alone won’t reverse low fertility. Real change requires affordable childcare, gender equity, and long-term security. youtu.be/zAfyU-R1I24?...

New paper! What happens when abortion laws are driven by xenophobic stereotypes? @ispsyale.bsky.social @scholars.org

Siblings can play a crucial role in each others development. Research by @dremmazang.bsky.social found that younger siblings tend to benefit from an older child's educational opportunities. Learn more about Zang's research in this @nytimes.com piece by @susandominus.bsky.social. ⤵️ #EdPolicy

How does upward mobility affect health outcomes and behaviors during the transition to adulthood? @dremmazang.bsky.social & Melissa Tian explore the intersection of race and sex: bit.ly/3XFE29d #NewPublication @ispsyale.bsky.social @asamedsoc.bsky.social @YaleSoc

Tomorrow @ 12 pm PT | Join APARC's China Program for a seminar featuring @dremmazang.bsky.social as she shares research illuminating how China’s 2011 Marriage Law reform has reshaped property rights within households, impacting women and family well-being and behavior. Register ⤵️

📜🚀 New work with @dremmazang.bsky.social! Where you’re born may shape brain health more than where you live now. Southern-born adults face shorter cognitively healthy lives—no matter where they move. Western-born women also show risks. Early-life geography matters.🗺️ 🔗 doi.org/10.1016/j.he...

Excited to see my sibling research highlighted in this week’s @nytimes.com! From birth order to caregiving, siblings shape us more than we think. Curious how? @ispsyale.bsky.social @yalesph.bsky.social @readdemography.bsky.social @appam.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/m...

Travel plans in April: April 10-13 PAA in DC April 24-26 Committee of 100 Conference & Gala in LA April 27-29 Stanford University April 30th UCLA I hope to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones!

Excited to share a new collaboration with colleagues at Yale School of Medicine (doi.org/10.1016/j.he...)! We developed composite indices of contextual disadvantage specifically for older adults at broader geographic scales.